


if an underground band gets popular it's not really underground anymore

by odoridango



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Attempt at Humor, BAND CANON...like band au but make it canon, Band Fic, Gen, Social Media Fic, Way too many fake news articles, and fake livestreams, canon divergence I guess, outsider pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:03:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26220841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odoridango/pseuds/odoridango
Summary: soft but swole@justonepoundcakeso guys we really handed over mils of taxpayer $ to a military funded institution to fail at sending ppl to deep space troll technofuturism and fund a concept album that ABSOLUTELY FUCKIN SHREDS!!! #FormVoltronThe Voltron paladins form a metal band. The public absolutely has opinions.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 56





	if an underground band gets popular it's not really underground anymore

**Author's Note:**

> aka why i will never be a music writer

**The Atlantic** @TheAtlantic

“There was no explanation. It was a wake up call.” @erikomaybell looks back on Kerberos Mission failure and how it shattered our belief that science is progress.

[embedded link: One Year Later, We Are Still Haunted by the Kerberos Mission / How a widely touted deep space mission failed and marked the end of an era. / theatlantic.com]

**Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated :)**  
904k views  
NoKnownUniverse

_Hello! I’m Shiro. You may know me as Shirogane Takashi, pilot of the highly publicized Kerberos Mission launched by the United States Galaxy Garrison a year ago. Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated…I’ve always wanted to say that. You might be wondering where my fellow crew members and friends, Dr. Sam Holt and his son, Matt Holt, are. We’re working on it. I can’t say too much._

_[grainy footage of Shiro unconscious, strapped to a gurney, being wheeled into a sterile looking facility. A distinctive, red-jacketed figure enters, fighting off the orderlies, turning Shiro’s head to identify him, before cutting his bonds.]_

_I returned to Earth because I needed to warn the planet, and warn you. But when I landed, a retrieval squad tried to keep me quiet. So let me say this now: **they** are coming. They may already be here. And when they finally reach our planet, we need to be ready to make a stand. _

_Welcome to the fight. Welcome to the Voltron Conspiracy._

_[unintelligible interstellar radio chatter. The one understandable word, repeated frequently throughout the clip, is Voltron.]_

Comments are turned off. _Learn more._

**NPR** @NPR

Rumors that Takashi Shirogane – pilot of the Kerberos Mission, assumed missing – are still alive have reignited following an appearance of his likeness on a band’s YouTube channel.

[embedded link: Staying Alive: Takashi Shirogane Seemingly Appears in Band’s Promotional Video / In a surprising industry switch, Pilot Takashi Shirogane’s likeness is front and center in a band’s first promotional video uploaded on YouTube. Named No Known… / npr.org]

**1-800-NASAcomebaaaaaack** @yaspaceACE

#FreeKerb #ShiroLives alien abduction conspirators RISE we TOLD YOU we left three of our own out there

**NOT a scalie** @preenqueen

that’s what happens when space science gets handed over to private enterprise mooks, no accountability smh #FreeKerb #ShiroLives

**United States Galaxy Garrison** @usgg

The failure of the Kerberos Mission was a tragedy and three talented and dedicated explorers were lost in Dr. Sam Holt, Matt Holt, and Pilot Takashi Shirogane. However, we stand by statements made after communication with the flightcraft was lost.

[attached: Official Kerberos Mission Close press release]

**we are all just made of stars** @universal_flail

this is bullshit. Shirogane had medical approval and USGG board planned this to fail so exploration programs would be canceled and $$ would be redirected to commercial programs. Shame on you. #FreeKerb #ShiroLives

**haruka, ruler of my heart** @kokorosenshi

LRT this!!!! @usgg 7 out of 10 of your board is making money off commercial space lobby groups or direct from commercial companies how is this not conflict of interest??? #FreeKerb

[attached: screenshots from various financial reports from watchdog groups]

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Will you believe? #FormVoltron

[embedded link: The Orpheus Salvo, by No Known Universe / 5 track album / noknownuniverse.bandcamp.com]

**soft but swole** @justonepoundcake

so guys we really handed over mils of taxpayer $ to a military funded institution to fail at sending ppl to deep space troll technofuturism and fund a concept album that ABSOLUTELY FUCKIN SHREDS!!! #FormVoltron

**draw me like one of your french demons** @crowleydreams

but HOLY SHIT did you see those liner notes. those handwritten annotations for the last two tracks. that conspiracy board at the end. These guys are DEDICATED

**soft but swole** @justonepoundcake

theyre ballsy!!! like shirogane for real or not I kinda hope they come out with more material they really put their heads in the concept and the critique this is some BTBAM level shit

**so I said “get in the robot”** @s4dsh1nj1

.@NoKnownUniverse so you’re just gonna use a dead man’s face as a gimmick to promote your shitty music that’s disrespectful as fuck think about his family

**Heavy Blog Is Heavy** @HeavyBlog

Hey! Listen to No Known Universe!

[embedded link: Hey! Listen to No Known Universe! – Heavy Blog is Heavy / This album will make you shake. Space themes aren’t unusual for extreme metal or post-rock bands to take… / heavyblogisheavy.com]

**On “The Orpheus Salvo,” No Known Universe Explores the Tragedy of the Unsolvable**

Have deepfakes gone too far, or has infamous Kerberos pilot Takashi Shirogane resurrected himself and written a biographical concept album? Prior to the release of No Known Universe’s debut EP, a video on their channel seemingly featured Shirogane, implying he was being pursued by his former employer, the United States Galaxy Garrison, and warning humankind of an incoming alien invasion, declaring a resistance movement. The video included footage of Shirogane being captured and taken in a facility, prompting additional scrutiny and suspicion that the video was merely an expensive PR stunt. This has led some to brush off No Known Universe as a band willing to resort to promotional tricks and gimmicks for easy press. However, this belies the seriousness with which No Known Universe has addressed the Kerberos Mission and its fallout, and “The Orpheus Salvo” is their indictment and accusation for its current perception.

Make no mistake, “The Orpheus Salvo” is an EP about the Mission as told from Shirogane’s point of view. Interspersed with audio sampled from official press conferences, radio interviews, television reports, and podcasts, the EP is a sonic collage that asks listeners to re-examine the way the Kerberos Mission story has been told, by the human toll it has exacted. Accordingly, the EP sketches out an entire gamut of emotions. The first half of the album teems with excitement and enthusiasm for the exploration of space, shot through with bright, shimmery chords and clean, mathy riffage full of energy, momentum, and imminently danceable grooves, all backed by jazz-inflected drums and pinpoint basslines. However, songs are frequently interrupted by the sudden, monstrous breakdowns that make up the bread and butter of hardcore, and the dreamier, fuzz-driven contemplations of post-rock, periods of doubt and contemplation. Shirogane’s voice weaves in and out of these moods as built-in commentary – “They say there are two unexplored frontiers, the ocean and space,” he divulges at the end of “Just A Little Adventure,” the second track, “I chose space because we don’t even know where it ends yet. It may never end.”

That poignant quotation cues a descent into a sudden pummel of blast beats and deep, crushing bass, leading into the middle of the EP, its turning point. Notably named “Pilot Error” after the controversial Galaxy Garrison response, this third track turns up the noise with blistering guitars, thumping djent-like bass, and rambling drums overlaid with chaotic free-jazz saxophone, coagulating into a grinding mass laying judgment. Alternating voice samples narrate Shirogane’s qualifications and skills, the fate of the Kerberos Mission, and press statements made by Colleen Holt. “My husband and son are alive,” Holt’s voice seems to boom over the soundscape, punctuated by the wailing screech of sax, “You took them to space and abandoned them there.” With Holt’s voice still echoing, the EP enters its tumultuous final half, begun with a mighty bellow that signals the start of the growled vocals that feature throughout the remainder of the album. The unidentified vocalist narrates what happened to the crew members after landing, following one of the popular conspiracy theories that emerged after the disputed pilot error announcement: alien abduction.

Brutal, chugging riffs lay the ground for cosmic-themed death metal as the vocalist howls, screams, and screeches their way through the story, revealing that Shirogane was taken to an alien gladiator arena run by the universe-spanning Galra Empire and forced to fight for his life, while his fellow crew members were taken to labor camps. In a hard-hitting wall of high-octane arpeggios and the thunder of kickdrums, Shirogane rises through the arena ranks to become the Champion, only to catch the interest of the Witch and her druids, becoming part of her experiments and losing his right arm. Only with the help of a mysterious spy does he escape and begin traveling to Earth to find the remnants of Voltron, a mysterious weapon that can save the universe – a passage that sees the album returning to introspection, with sparse melodies twinkling against dronelike reverberations, illustrating the isolation of space. The last surprise in this already startling album is a hidden track, Japanese spoken word relayed in near silence, seemingly in Shirogane’s voice.

“The Orpheus Salvo” is one of the most ambitious albums released so far this year in the sheer number of heavy music genres it spans, its overwhelming technicality, and in its subject matter. Regardless of the truth, No Known Universe does make one thing clear, and it is that the Kerberos crew was human, and the mission was driven by their curiosity, hope, and optimism for the future. They had family and friends to miss them, and in knowing no reasonable answers to offer as to what truly happened to the Kerberos mission, the only thing one can do, is to speculate into the void. The album itself is an critical statement of the role all had to play in the fall of Takashi Shirogane, who bore the blame for mission failure, spinning a tale of hope, despair, and potentiality – if there is no answer, even the unlikeliest is possible. In this way, hoax or not, Shirogane lives on as a modern allegory of how the collective cultural consciousness projects and scapegoats its way out of disappointment, and copes with the unbearable weight of uncertainty.

**Ponpokopi no Ponpokona no** @nochosuke

the monologue on the hidden track at the end of Escape Velocity….is Shirogane talking to his parents….apologizing to the Holts….Im so upset…. #FormVoltron

**“honey hold my flower”** @mandragory-botanist

ngl i really teared up like “i always wanted to understand the world that you taught to me” EXCUSE ME SIR I Did Not ask to be hurt like this. but lol did he also pull a “tried so hard and yet so far in the end it doesn’t even matter” in japanese near the 14:34 mark

**Ponpokopi no Ponpokona no** @nochosuke

AslfdkfkgALSK’; OMFG YOU ARE SO RIGHT I didn’t even know that…hhhhhh watch out errybody we have a joker over here….multilingual memer….the True Multicultural Experience….

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Keep your eyes open: we’re going live on the last night of the Perseids. Join us.

[embedded link: “The Orpheus Salvo” Perseids Livestream / No Known Universe is going live on Twitch. / twitch.tv]

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Welcome to the Voltron Conspiracy. We’re glad to have you. 

[embedded link: “The Orpheus Salvo” Perseids Livestream / No Known Universe is going live on Twitch. / twitch.tv]

**professionalstargazer:** As an astronomer with fancy letters after my name, I am greatly pleased by this use of Perseids footage. More projections of cool space events in my concerts please.

**cozyteacozy:** Like the commitment to aesthetic with the space armor but how are those helmets not fogging up from the inside i know from experience these concerts get sweaty

**blorogna:** The programmer is doing a really awesome job, hitting all the cues just right. For a new band this is really high quality.

**zornapologist:** ok the livestream is fucking fantastic but when the drummer pulled out that sax and let out the most righteous skronk that was the moment I nutted 

**sciencedrooools:** omfg the guitarist and drummer SWAPPING for the back half of the livestream tho is this Sherinian era Dream Theater is this real life or just fantasy

**bottlerocketzzz:** HOLY FUCK WE HAVE LIFTOFF Y’ALL #SHIROLIVES #FreeKerb

**planarcoord:** if only we all had takashi shirogane’s massive cast iron balls the world would be a much better place, respect

Commander Mitch Iverson wiped the sweat from his brow as he left the post office – and thank goodness the post hadn’t gotten fucked up like the space programs had, he thought to himself more than a little darkly, doing his best to ignore his itching fingers and the almost compulsive urge to check his phone. The press and Galaxy Garrison rumor mill were swirling with the newest conspiracy theories and gossip about Shirogane Takashi and it was difficult for him not to tune into every mention of that name – after all, he knew for a fact that they were true. Shirogane was still alive.

Nothing about the retrieval mission that night had gone to form. When Mitch had sent out a squad to see what had crash landed in the desert, he’d expected it to be clean cut. It wasn’t too uncommon for telecommunications satellites and space drones to come crashing into the desert after WWIII, given the outsize, battery-powered flotilla that had been sent up by rival nations in those years. Typical procedure involved retrieving whatever device and debris had survived the crash, quarantining those remains for about a week, and then bringing those components into the labs for analysis. If the debris or device was identified as belonging to another nation, it was understood that the Galaxy Garrison would reach out to the appropriate authorities to ask if the remains would be claimed, and until they were, they had free license to extract whatever information they could. 

Mitch’s Commander title was more decorative than anything; it would have been more accurate to call him a dean of the Garrison’s educational and research programs. He couldn’t say that he wasn’t relieved to be away from more active duty after the explosive incident that had cost him his eye, away from the overt jockeying, pandering, and use of human body counts to justify budgets. Time in the military made him more suited to the position than he’d thought, given the frequency with which he butted heads with the brass. If he hadn’t been a top weapons and ballistics specialist used to fighting about the uses of his budget, he might have found it confusing why the retrieval mission fell under academic jurisdiction, instead of military. It was an easy way to mask manipulations coming from the military administration as excavation exercises, and gave the active duty military commanders and admirals easy access to labs and analysts that could be pressured into doing what they wanted, or so the thought went. The research and academic components of the Garrison were frequently subject to pressure from the military and its commercial contractors, something Mitch didn’t find to be in the Garrison’s, or the nation’s best interests. Then again, what could he expect?

The Garrison’s origins were in the takeover of the independent civilian space agency. Budgets were first gradually drained over a span of years, before funding abruptly began to be sourced from the military budget, with projects diverted towards military objectives. There had been public outcry of course, but the war had reared its ugly head and truncated those protests with rapid recruitment and nationalist propaganda, then the drafting of technically skilled specialists, fueled by fear of an aerial tech and ballistics battle. The modern Garrison had inherited the educational and specialist schools developed from initial draft training programs, as well as the R&D and exploratory programs that had once been part of the civilian space agency, but the military chronically underbudgeted the money needed to support them. Instead, the gap had been infused with money from commercial space interests who’d held existing contracts, and had been brought in through joint ventures that worked on developing faster planes and more efficient space modules, and had keen interests in planet colonization and space tourism.

The scope of research narrowed as money became scarce, but the civilian-rooted R&D and exploratory departments that survived grew wily and defiant and were not trifled with lightly. They were fiercely protective of their projects and intent on maintaining as much distance from the military programs as possible, always looking for opportunities to expand their research and drum up public support. They were swift and vicious with their grant proposals and turn of phrase, something they also applied to social media to great effect. This seemed to be a lesson the military branches and their commercial interests didn’t want to listen to or learn, and Dr. Sam Holt had been one of the academics’ foremost proponents. Despite being the unofficial dean of this whole mess, Mitch could empathize with the various criticisms that popped up like wildfire. In his opinion, the entire agency would be better off served if R&D and exploration were left alone to do what they did best. Not like the entire space science and engineering community wouldn’t still benefit from learning the results of their research. Military interference had also increasingly driven down the amount of international collaborations, and now there were only a scant number of projects being conducted with other nations. Bad for diplomacy and for science, if you asked him.

And the retrieval mission that night? The things Shirogane had said, panicked and flailing, the way that the men he’d assigned to be on duty had been replaced by military staff, the way he’d been blocked from getting answers by the brass and forced to back down by official orders and threats, the completely unprecedented scale of the pod that had crashed into the desert indicating it was definitely _not_ a satellite, all built up to a pretty nasty picture. Even worse was that leaked footage. Shirogane had not been brought to a quarantine infirmary room, the way he should have been. And the person who’d broken him out was definitely Kogane. It was hard to forget how devastated he’d looked when Mitch had told him the official verdict on the Kerberos MIssion, or how angry and lost he’d seemed when he’d finally been served an expulsion sentence. Mitch had intended to give him a printout with local programs and apprenticeships, but Kogane had never shown up for formal program retraction, just shot off into the desert. A little helplessly, Mitch still sometimes thought back on those meetings and wondered idly how he was doing out there. Shirogane had been everything to that kid, but Mitch had had his hands tied – it didn’t matter that Shirogane had pinged mission control briefly before landing as he’d done on missions before, it didn’t matter that Matt Holt had sent pictures for press and social media like he’d been asked to. _Shut up or get ready to move out of your office so we can put someone more malleable in your place_ , was what the military branch was not so subtly telling him, and it was chilling to think of how willing they’d been to cut ties to the crew and not entertain further inquiries. It had seen him morose at his kitchen table with his head in his hands, five shots of unappreciated tequila circulating in his blood, and his partner at his back, hands a soothing weight on his shoulders.

But those nights were what spurred Mitch to hang on and steer the ship as best he could, weathering the tides, until the R&D and exploratory programs could have the room they deserved. Until the piloting programs could be less like baby boot camp and military hazing and more of a trade school. It’s what Shirogane and Dr. Holt would have wanted, he’d thought, it would be closer to the civilian space agency of old and serve the people and the nation a lot better. This was his opportunity to really put that in action. He pressed the foam-cushioned package he’d retrieved against his side a little harder, arm shielding the address label.

The bell to the small coffee shop tinkled when he ambled in, and he let out a short huff of relief upon getting a face full of cool air. Espresso was one of his indulgences whenever he was in Plaht City running errands – he made coffee at home when he could, but mornings were hectic and neither he nor his partner had ever had the inclination to learn to make lattes at home. It just took too much time. It made having a concentrated espresso drink in his hands a luxurious experience, and as small as this place was, it was a peaceful oasis to him, matte black tiles on the walls, accented with mint and pastel pinks, counter made of live-edge ebony with visible dovetail joints and a hammered copper trim. A cheery stand-up sign on the far side of the counter reminded patrons in black-outlined, sunshine yellow letters that the café was the exclusive partner for Garrett Gourmet, with pie pre-orders still open, and a pickup window for lunchboxes from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Mitch made himself a mental note to order a pie to bring home someday – pomegranate chess pie certainly sounded like a unique offering.

He and his partner had actually met each other in a coffee shop, sharing a table. He still remembered their orders, a cortado and a fancy blackberry-pistachio croissant for him, and a red eye and gruyere pretzel bun for Jovan. He was still smiling by the time he greeted the blonde at the counter, her hair braided elaborately into a crown around her head, twin tails draping over her shoulders.

“A cortado, please,” he said, “And a ham and cheese croissant.”

“Sure,” she confirmed, bubbly, tapping on the point-of-sale interface. “Would you like that toasted?”

“No thanks.”

These new rumors were a good thing, Mitch thought, as he handed over the requisite bills and change to the blonde cashier. New interest had been infused into the Kerberos Mission and the crew’s disappearance. The first time he’d caught Katie Holt hacking Garrison files, he’d thought it was a good thing too, even as he had to banish her from the grounds. She was Dr. Holt’s daughter; she would be back for more no matter what he had to do to look like he was obediently obeying the military branch. It was good that the younger ones still had an appetite for justice and discovery. It was the job of old guys like him to open the way for them to pave.

Now, why Shirogane would start a band, Mitch wouldn’t pretend to know, but he had no doubt that he was personally involved and working toward some sort of disruption. It wasn’t like Mitch had been sitting on his hands pointlessly the past year either, the package under his arm was proof of that. Shirogane had always been a rulebender and breaker, some just seemed to conveniently forget that part of his personality. It would be interesting to see what move he would make next, especially since he’d been so unconventional in his first step. Not to mention, the new rumors were a net win for Mitch. With Shirogane back in the game, stirring up a hornet’s nest and reminding the superiors why he’d been chosen for the mission, people would be predisposed to being more suspicious of the Garrison. It would be easier to look into unexamined corners and turn out dirty laundry. In that sense, he supposed that the music was doing its job and making people rethink exactly what had happened a year ago.

Sighing, he checked his watch as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. He would need to listen to that album after all – he’d pretty much committed himself to tracking the media swarm around Shirogane and his band anyway. The music was much more Jovan’s pace than his; perhaps he would enjoy it. Mitch had read the liner notes, known the first half of the story to be true. The second was much harder to swallow, and he’d relied on quite a couple more shots of tequila to have it sink in, but he had to keep his mind open to having it be a possibility. All signs were clear – the Kerberos Mission was and continued to be a herald of a change in the times.

He waited for a familiar looking model of hoverbike to speed by, just a hair too close for comfort, the paint job a little scratched but still a strong, saturated red. It wasn’t too long ago that he would wait quietly for a similar hoverbike to pull in, just one minute shy of curfew. Shirogane would look up and catch his eye, give him a small, sheepish grin, and Mitch would grimace at him but leave it alone. Kogane never seemed to catch this exchange. In the distance, the hoverbike stopped, and its rider removed their helmet, messy, braided bun of black hair popping out over the collar of a dusty, blue and brown jacket. Maybe Shirogane and Kogane had found each other and were still buddying around like always, Mitch mused, as he crossed the street and made his way back to the postal office parking lot. It would be fitting for them to be terrorizing the Garrison and the world together again. In fact, he thought, opening his car door, the corners of his mouth quirking up, the prospect of the two of them still working together gave him a little bit of hope that whatever Shirogane planned, it would work out.

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Every story has multiple sides, and every story has a continuity. Who is the jury and who is the judge? #FormVoltron

[embedded link: Mutual Elegy for the Cosmic Mourner, by No Known Universe / 2 track album / noknownuniverse.bandcamp.com]

**Kasiiha, devourer of numbers** @kasiihacalcs

NEW NKUVERSE IS HERE and im getting serious Sigur Ros vibes. Bowed guitar? Check. Possibly made up vocals? Also check. Not what I expected? DEFINITELY CHECK. #FormVoltron

**go off but on guitar** @slapbassdrops

NKUVerse being like bitch u thought and offroading straight into MONO postclassical territory #FormVoltron

**soft but swole** @justonepoundcake

a little la dispute with my TToL *coffee emoji* dont mind if I do. And as always: DAMN LOOK AT THOSE LINER NOTES the spoken word translations this shit is a full twelve course meal #FormVoltron

**“honey hold my flower”** @mandragory-botanist

I really want to know who the speakers on the album are theyre great. and the way NKUVerse goes from melancholy nostalgia straight into crushing doom slabs is *fire emoji**fire emoji**fire emoji* #FormVoltron

**Spiders Georg** @spideryfeelings121

I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT NEW NKUVERSE. Lookit that production. Sweeping and grand on the first track and then gritty lo-fi tech on the second #FormVoltron

**“my favorite flower” track commentary**  
976k views  
NoKnownUniverse

_Hello! I’m Shiro. Thanks for believing that I’m alive._

_[The dark-skinned, white-haired person sitting by Shirogane Takashi speaks in an unknown language, laughing. Angled pink marks are visible under their eyes. Captions appear at the bottom of the video.] How morbid, Shiro._

_It’s true, though! Thank you for all you #ShiroLives messages. On behalf of myself and the Holts, we really appreciate your support. We’re still working on getting Dr. Sam and Matt back here with us, but we hope there will be results soon._

_Yes, rest assured, we are doing all that we can._

_In the meantime, I’m honored to introduce our dear friend and…commander? Hm._

_We’re co-leaders, really now, Shiro. I’m Princess Allura of the planet Altea. It’s wonderful to meet all of you, and thank you for lending your support to our fight. I’m told that quite a few of you enjoyed the sound of the zniyvleaiek on the last record. We’re… lucky to have found one. [Allura holds up an instrument resembling a skeleton guitar, but with four strings and a triangular frame.]_

_A lot of people thought it was a bowed guitar but no, it’s a zniyvleaiek. You’ve probably noticed it by now, but Allura is the speaker on “my favorite flower”._

_Yes…it’s a very personal tale. Which you will know if you’ve read our liner notes._

_Yes, always read the liner notes. There will be a quiz. And we’ve all said this individually millions of times, but thank you Allura, for being willing to share your story, Altea’s story, on this track._

_Of course. It’s important history to know. And I want people to understand this war. In a way I am also still struggling to understand it. It felt like just yesterday….and to tell this story I had to think a lot about what I felt, and how to put those feelings into words. As a princess, someone who had a duty to Altea, but also as a citizen, who just lived most of every day on Altea. I got to manage and direct the sound on this track, and I’m grateful everyone was willing to work with me to get the sound to where it needed to be. We experimented a lot with different noises and things and it was an uphill battle to understand where I wanted the song to go, especially at first._

_We had so many tracks. [BLEEP] even joked about it, “Shiro, we’ve got too many goddamn tracks on the DAW.”_

_To his credit, I’m not sure it was a joke. I really was very indecisive over what I wanted to include. I kept thinking about all the stories I knew, all the sights and sounds of the capital city and the palace and all the things the ambassadors would always say to visiting dignitaries. And I thought I absolutely had to have all of that on the track. I needed to keep every single scrap. While I was fretting over the tracks one afternoon, obsessively listening to them really, and kind of despairing over how all of this was supposed to fit together, he sat down next to me and said that I had to have a cohesive idea of what kind of story I wanted to tell, otherwise we wouldn’t get anywhere and everyone would just get frustrated. This was after we’d spent three days working with different ideas and not really getting anything done. And then he forcibly shut down the interface and told me to take a breather and think about it._

_Haha, that’s so typical of him._

_Ha, it is, isn’t it? I was a little offended at first, but in the end, he had a point. I talked to him and [BLEEP] to get a better idea of Earth music, what sounds were possible, what might match the sounds and rhythms that I knew. There is such a color in Earth sounds, so exploring them was just as enjoyable as finally landing on that end concept. And in the end I thought that the only story I could tell was the one that I knew, however imperfect and incomplete mine would be. I couldn’t capture everything…no matter how much I wanted to. So I wanted there to be this movement from wonder and curiosity to anxiety and then to sorrow and conviction…I suppose because that’s how I think back on how the trajectory of my life so far. It felt a bit vain._

_But the finished sound is pretty polished. It’s very full bodied._

_Yes. I wanted it to be that way. Because when I was thinking about this track…I thought, I’m trying to distill all my experiences and my entire life into sound. All the memories of my family, my planet, my people, into this one experience that we all created together and tried to match to my emotions. So once everything was finished and we sat together to listen to the entire thing…it was so strange and yet so relieving. When [BLEEP] and I woke up after cryosleep I was devastated by the idea that no one would remember us. That no one would remember who the Alteans were or what we contributed, and our history would just evaporate in space like our planet did. And because there’s just so much to that, I talked to [BLEEP] about wanting the sound to have that feeling, the fullness, lushness, all-encompassing, embracing way that I feel when I think about my home. I hope that’s what you all felt when you listened to the track._

_If it helps, we have some enthusiastic tweets saying that that people definitely resonated with this track. How it got a couple of them through hard times, or made them think of people they miss. Your efforts entirely paid off._

_Oh! How wonderful. Oh….Shiro, please give me that box of…whatever. How embarrassing. [Allura, crying, dabs at her eyes with a tissue, and continues sniffing as she speaks.] If that piece brought you solace – from the bottom of my heart, thank you, and I’m honored that you took us along on your emotional journey. Especially because there were so many audio takes…I’m glad [BLEEP] was so patient. I don’t think I’d ever cried so much in a single movement before. In comparison the second track seemed to come together so quickly._

_The narration on “our history, ourselves” was mostly prerecorded audio that [BLEEP] got from a lot of different sources, sometimes through comms, so there was already this lo-fi, static-y quality to it that we wanted to match. He said it was a side project of his, since we didn’t know much about the war going in, and he wanted to learn more about the organization and where it came from. It’s still personal, but since the narration was already there and the audio would have to be cut up no matter what, even before “my favorite flower” we’d already talked to [BLEEP] and decided what could and couldn’t be included and how we wanted it to sound differently. The approach was just very different and more planned. [BLEEP] mentioned it’s actually a very old Galran tradition to transmit oral histories, so some of the drum rhythms and things were based off what [BLEEP] could tell us about those._

_I’d never heard the Galra side of the story before that track._

_Really?_

_Yes. It was….a little shocking. It made me change the way I thought about the history that I had learned. And my interactions with the few Galra that I did and do know. I’m glad the Blades were open to sharing the audio with us. It’s a valuable perspective. The way the Empire talks about it, the way Zarkon talked about it, I never would have even thought about what things used to be like._

_That’s the power of stories. I couldn’t even start to think about that stuff in the arena. We really are lucky [BLEEP] let us share. And if any of our listeners have downloaded the translator plugins from the links that we included in the liner notes…_

_Read the liner notes!_

_Read the liner notes!! Always! We work hard on those! Ahem. If you’ve downloaded the plugins and installed them in your personal translators, and we encourage you to and promise they’re not viruses or malware, then you’ll have noticed there’s some slight differences in the translations. Those are actually intentional._

_Ohhhh I will not miss those translation sessions. You are a harsh taskmaster, Shiro._

_It was a group effort, and I take translation very seriously. A bad translation lets too many things slip through the gaps, I know this from experience! And it was important to get these stories right._

_I appreciate your efforts. But I still won’t want to run another session with you anytime soon._

_Guess I’ll have to stick with the piloting gig then. But the translation differences were meant to accommodate alternate interpretations of the text. Translating literally, versus translating figuratively, and all the awkward idiomatic expressions in between. Especially on “our history, ourselves”, there were some weird differences between Imperial Galran and the…what did we end up calling it? Even that term needs to be translated._

_Antique? Antique Common. I think that’s what we ended up on._

_Antique Common, that’s it. Since it’s an older form of Galran and also a dialect, loan words and certain structures made it into the Imperial form, but the meanings and usage have completely warped so there are a lot of different tricky layers at play. The Blade being who they are, they totally leaned in on them. So, translation. Harder than you might expect.  
_

_Your English is also quite complicated, in my opinion. I was surprised that so much of the popular music includes vocals. That’s quite different from the Altean norm._

_There’s all sorts of music genres, but I guess having vocals is more common. So Altean music was more instrumental?_

_Yes. In general I suppose I would say that it is more…formless. Less of the tunes, more of the tones, lots more of the…uh, the soundscaping, I suppose you would call it. Like what we hear when we accidentally knock glasses on surfaces. The point was to communicate and illustrate the movement and flow of quintessence, of the energy in all things. As you know, before modern Altean science and alchemy came to be, the ancient Alteans worshipped quintessence, thought it a sign of a higher power, a benevolent being that commanded the world into order, and at other times, into chaos. It was a very different understanding and perspective of quintessence than how it was viewed by the time my father built the Lions._

_We barely understand alchemy in Earth science terms, but knowing what we do of Altean tech now, it sounds really different. That’s so interesting. You can share more of that kind of information with us if you want, you know? I can’t speak for [BLEEP] and [BLEEP], but I think the rest of us would love to learn more. We know that [BLEEP] for sure would listen to anything you would want to talk about._

_If you’re sure…it’s something that I’ve been thinking about a lot since coming to Earth myself. I’m sure [BLEEP] would have plenty to contribute to the discussion as well. I do hope to explore more Earth music. Quite a few of the pieces that [BLEEP] played for me sounded more than a little familiar. Anbien? Anvian? I can’t remember the name. But that genre, that sounded quite familiar to me. Not being from Earth there are many sound references I don’t understand, so I like to have [BLEEP] listen to records with me so I can grasp more of the context, but it’s been such a nice way to learn more about Earth and humans. Despite our differences, we may be quite alike!_

_Alteans and humans have had a pretty decent track record together so far. We should keep that going._

_We should, will, and shall. Considering how backwater this area of space is, it’s quite a feat. The galaxies here are so young. More on that in the oncoming weeks, what’s the human saying now – keep your space with these eyes?_

_Keep your eyes on this space?_

_Exactly. Stay with us. There is so much more that we have to share with you._

_And as always,_

**_Thanks for joining the fight!_ **

Comments are turned off. _Learn more._

**Star gardener // landscape designer** @lostin-cosmos

Ok but the thing that really gets me about nkuverse and #ShiroLives is that the holts and shiroganes parents haven’t officially said a single thing like…what is going on. are we all just pretending this isnt happening. is he alive or not. is this a hoax. what.

**HIT THE ROAD JACK** @hollasatyabak

THANK YOU FOR THIS because hard same no matter how hard NKUVerse jams I am 100% bamboozled. WHAT happened on Kerberos. WHAT is happening NOW

**felts for your life** @fluffy-artsfox

i am a person of science and even though alien life should be totally plausible….im still not sure what to believe tbh shirogane may just be the trolliest troll to ever troll trying to make metal mainstream while hes at it

**HIT THE ROAD JACK** @hollasatyabak

honestly the holts and shiroganes have been so good about this like if I was in that position I would have flipped so many desks by now and theyre just there goin ‘no comment’ and holdin the high ground

**Star gardener // landscape designer** @lostin-cosmos

thats the thing that make me think it might actually be forreal though!! if they were upset wouldnt they warn off the press or something and tell them to fuck off? It would totally be their right

**felts for your life** @fluffy-artsfox

truedat. aside from the vids too no ones actually seen shirogane if its assumed nkuverse is real then hes actually in hiding….but hes the spokesperson in a conspiracy band??? Idek tis convoluted

**Star gardener // landscape designer** @lostin-cosmos

who else is in the band anyway like allura and a buncha censored names does he have a grant for this or smth??? plot twist usgg tryna get more funding by gaming intergalactic war and pandering to niche music

**HIT THE ROAD JACK** @hollasatyabak

lmao cause independent bands w/no labels are YUGE cash cows duhhh these guys dont even have a contact email its just the tweeter tube and the bandcamp

**felts for your life** @fluffy-artsfox

ikr art and capitalism the most problematic of pairings. exploit urself for $$ or fit into the starving artist archetype 5ever? shirogane must have funding somehow recording isnt cheap but the band never talks about themselves

**Star gardener // landscape designer** @lostin-cosmos

SRSLY they are story first band second even shirogane is more a character at this pt than a person we just know the story and nothing about them. aside from streams they don’t seem like theyre gonna do lives anytime soon…anything they do is related to concept

**HIT THE ROAD JACK** @hollasatyabak

“even shirogane is more a character at this pt than a person” you might be onto something there esp since theyre entire story spins off kerb. nkuverse is actually an interesting case study on the whole artist vs art vs image thing

**felts for your life** @fluffy-artsfox

gimme all your revisionist histories and reimagined beginnings like what is the truth and what is real?? they really are p interesting that way

**Scientific American** @sciam

A side-by-side chronology of the @usgg and politically-spurred deep space missions of the last two centuries.

[embedded link: When the Universe and Politics Collide / Space exploration and politics have frequently been hand-in-hand, but never more so than in the past two centuries. / scientificamerican.com]

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Fourteen days before we redraw the map. Early access…if you can hack it. #FormVoltron

[embedded link: Hack the Universe / nkuhack.io]

**greigeturalive and drab** @maximalisthaat

ITS SPACE INVADERS W CAT SPACESHIPS and FURRY ALIENS and 8-bit ver ‘consider me consider we’ as bgm tbqh i don’t even care if I can’t hack it I will happily play this until I die

**greigeturalive and drab** @maximalisthaat

and I want a 10hr loop ver of the adorable title screen with the robot lion spaceships doing the MGM roar bless if this is fanbase pandering I want it all

**Indira ~pixel pusher~** @unearthly0-tangent

THE BGM HAS A DIFFERENT MIX ON EVERY LEVEL the bass drop on lvl 3 goes so hard but the drumsnbass mix on the last lvl has my heart pls remix album on bandcamp when

**greigeturalive and drab** @maximalisthaat

you monster how did u even finish this so fast

**Indira ~pixel pusher~** @unearthly0-tangent

muahaha mad skills my frond – but theres still a password at the end that you have to type in under a time limit n I have NO IDEA what it is ughhhh

**LOOP EVERYTHING** @midi-THAT_

ohhHHHHHH SNAP //kicks down door did someone say space invaders but furry

**it’s the low fives** @lofihighlife

this password is draining me of life WHAT IS IT

**BSOD but like, always** @bluem00d

wtf I accidentally clicked on the browser when I started gameplay and it took me to a freaking UEFI boot screen??? this game IS apparently hackable but I wanna play the game someone else do it

**go google it.** @ITbeastlymode

lololol I gave it a shot and whoever developed this had wayyyyy too much time on their hands you think they were in IT too?

[attached video: a hand pushes the enter key. Bright blue drips down and fills the screen. A rainbow then swirls out of the center, where a pixelated grey and blue hourglass icon pops up.]

**BSOD but like, always** @bluem00d

thank you you absolute legend!! LMAOOOO damn that’s some shade. whats the actual homepage tho pray tell? got a russian honey cake w ur name on it….

**go google it.** @ITbeastlymode

cake bribes are always acceptable esp when referring to special rootkits!! And the homepage is more trolling lol they sure know how to get mileage out of their pr

[attached screenshot: picture of a full color galaxy, with a location dot and leaderline off to the right in rainbow gradient, stating “You are here!”. The large, extra bold text at the center bottom of the screen reads “Redrawing in:”, a counter below ticking down days, hours, minutes, and seconds, “13:03:22:19”]

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Here it is. The world according to us. #FormVoltron

[embedded link: Hack the Universe / nkuhack.io]

**Ponpokopi no Ponpokona no** @nochosuke

NKU JOURNEY VIEW literally none of these planets have been mentioned before 3RD ALBUM DROP WHEN

**Terra, earthling nbd** @terror_forma

imma flip this star map is telling me Altea and Daibazaal are basically outside of our visible universe howd y’all even get out there??? Journey view saying you went even further out like????

**Destroyer Class Rainbow Rd** @nyooomblueshell

3D view!! blowing my mind rn!!! also credit where credit is due: nerrrrrrdsssssss

**jinbei under the sea** @weewoowhales

I can’t believe NKU is helping me with my astronomy homework right now local sky constellation view is GORGEOUS and super user friendly

**Indira ~pixel pusher~** @unearthly0-tangent

who developed this application and can i marry them

**Kezia !protest the everything!** @fortress-0bsidian

local astronaut scapegoated by agency on a deep space mission ends up exploring planets beyond astronomy’s wildest dreams more news at 9!! So what happened @usgg?? #FreeKerb #ShiroLives 

**just add fire!** @sailorrei

ok but according to google some of those planets on journey view dont even seem to exist I love NKU but hell if I know it isn’t just speculative fiction

**Carina Ihsahn** @professionalstargazer

these charts are a thing of beauty and they’re full of open source data sets from space agencies. Super useful since it’s not all been aggregated before. View toggling is great. Any chance this could stay up on the web, for science?

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

anything for science! though we should note for fellow space enthusiasts and stargazers that this shouldn’t be the last time you see this map, wink wonk

**vero:** oye leandrico

**vero:** hope you and your aseres know what you’re doing adam just texted me and the brass is freaking out over here about your made up planets and OFF THE OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE roadtrips wtf

**vero:** they got tagged about your map and started ringing up other agencies about it…they’re starting to get that they’ve been a little out of the loop

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** tranquilo veronita, we got this

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** [image attached] we post-it-ed, color coded, and timelined our way to victory

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** Shiro even has some sort of app to track our tasks… according to our whiteboard we’re on target

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** we got 6 months or so before Papa Holt gets here

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** it’s all very adult my bygone youth wherefore has it gone I’m ashamed I cry

**vero:** hush you complete child. that’s a wall of shame, not a whiteboard. Is that glitter gel pen?

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** uh, DUH. Allura loves the sparkly and when she wears glitter finally it’s like all the shine is on the OUTSIDE too light of my life she loves it and I love her and if I want to post dumb pics about it i can

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** so far its tracked with all alteans. It’s more disturbing on Coran….as you can see in that photo on the bottom left

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** look we’re all stuck on this dinosaur spaceship that’s older than old together almost 24/7 and only a couple of us can work we have to roast _someone_

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** tbh I’m surprised this ship still works since we just kind of fished it out of a canyon

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** thank god we have internet access now netflix and chill but literally so we don’t kill each other

**vero:** do i have to go up there and beat somebodies up???

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** nah it’s all good we just have too much time to think now, lots of stuff to plan and handle

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** it’s a different kind of challenge when Keith scowls at you and makes you run YET ANOTHER take for the TRILLIONTH time because he says the pedal effects SOUND TOO LIMP he’s so RUDE

**vero:** album frustrations huh. Never thought I’d see my little brother in a band jajajaja

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** YOU are SO rude my own flesh and blood how could you!! betray me!!! like this!!!!!!

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** but yeah don’t worry about it shiro’s been talking to his parents and his mom is spreading the gospel through her astrophys colleagues and friends and Pidge has been talking to their mom about everything and she’s doing all her networking too

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** mrs holt is kinda terrifying tbh…scarier than pidge on a caffeine rampage after a weeklong techathon

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** anyway the word is definitely getting out and Allura’s really getting tired of doing her intro to Voltron and the Rift War spiel which I guess is good for us

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** You have the next strategy call invite right?

**vero:** yeah, all set here I actually like those calls

**vero:** I mean I definitely flipped some shit when iverson first showed up but the shiroganes and colleen are great. straightforward with a high bullshit meter and know how to work a bureaucracy

**vero:** honestly it’s still really hard to believe like even though I go to the strategy calls and talk with you like this and actually know what’s going on it’s _really_ hard to have it sink in, esp when the Garrison’s out of the loop because of commercial and military interests

**vero:** sometimes I feel like I dreamed it all but like….can’t argue with your dinosaur ship and the teleporting wolf

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** EXCUSE you mean KEITH’S annoying teleporting wolf he’s always catching me when I head to the kitchen for midnight mariquitas and chicharrones and I swear he’s judging me can he read minds or something smh

**vero:** are you kidding mami would judge you I would judge you better watch yourself leandrico

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** you say that you don’t fry yuquitas in the dorms at like 3am I know how you live veronita don’t try me!!

**vero:** ha you think you can take me think again those yuquitas are time honored strategy call snacks and I have justice and Iverson on my side like we would bother meeting so late without food as incentive

**vero:** i bring the goods, he brings the hot sauce, adam brings the dried ramen snack packets that he’s addicted to and blames shiro for

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** omfg I cant believe my own sister is bribing brass into silence with yuquitas who even are you

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** also Iverson is the weirdest part of this tbh you should have seen our faces when shiro told us he was joining in le resistance

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** if it helps it’s weird for us too. Even though we know its all happening in real time it’s like everything we did actually got erased and we ended up in some weird alternate universe like we did last time

**vero:** wait, what do you mean last time

**just get l.a.n.c.e.y:** oops

**vero:** _what do you mean last time_

**vero:** LEANDRO

**vero:** L E A N D R O

**vero:** I know you’re reading the push notifications stop ignoring me!!!! ugh

**The Washington Post** @thewashingtonpost

Star map released by Takashi Shirogane-backed band spurs rumors of collaboration with international space agencies and suspicions that alien invasion allegations are true

[embedded link: Takashi Shirogane-backed star map includes data from international space…/ Apparent space agency collaboration sparks fears that an alien invasion is incoming. / washingtonpost.com]

**VANITY FAIR** @vanityfair

The shadow of Kerberos Mission pilot Takashi Shirogane looms large in the public psyche, first as a cautionary tale, now as enigmatic conspiracy bandleader. Who is he, really?

[embedded link: The Mystery of Takashi Shirogane / Scapegoat, bad pilot, intergalactic whistleblower, or normal guy? Despite our fascination with Takashi Shirogane, no one seems to know who he is. / vanityfair.com]

_Takashi Shirogane, I quickly find, is a hard man to pin down. The Garrison tells me he was a star pilot whose impeccable runs are immortalized in their sim drills, and yet he is also a pilot erroneous, the official reason that the Kerberos Mission failed. His accolades were irrefutable, say flight and space program administrators, and yet he was repeatedly placed on probation, teaching while his flight readiness was tested again and again. Former students are still starry-eyed when they talk of his firm but cordial demeanor, his willingness to answer questions and guide tutorials, his enthusiasm towards space and flying. But no one can tell me his likes and dislikes, his favorite subject, food, or color. He doesn’t seem to have any friends left on campus, just the administrators that he frequently worked among and with. No one can say what motivated him day to day, or why he’s now the frontman of a band when his passion for space and adventure seemed to be one of his defining traits. He seems to have sprung from the ground at the Garrison as Athena did the head of Zeus, fully-formed and mature. While survived by his mother and father, both in Japan, and an ex-fiance, still at the Garrison, none of them respond to my requests to talk._

_“The thing you have to understand about Kerberos,” Kiran Pariyar tells me, pouring a steaming cup of tea, “Is that it was a litmus test, a bit different from the other space missions in the mid-20 th century. Kerberos was not about nationalism or political ideology, or civil supremacy. Kerberos was about social contract.”_

_Pariyar is a history professor at Georgetown University who focuses their study on the relationship between the science, innovation, and politics. “They’re very much intertwined,” they say with a chuckle. “Science can inform policy, sway public opinion, foment cultural movements. It’s just as subject to interpretation as anything else, and yet we hold it to a different standard than other subjects! And Kerberos was a result of these same forces.”_

_The Kerberos Mission was the first deep space mission to go beyond the Kuiper belt. Its primary goal was to study ice formation and warm-condensate oceans on Kerberos to assist in ongoing glacier reconstruction and ocean temperature projects, such as reMOSAIC. Additionally, the crew was to pick up readings within the belt itself to better understand its object forming regions, take measurements for advanced modeling, and also to attempt to launch a miniature satellite that could deliver readings of trans-Neptunian objects beyond Pluto for the first time._

_“This is the first major space mission since the end of World War III,” Pariyar frames for me. “We as a society, are not feeling great. For the first time, we were invaded by land, air, and sea, and we’re really, truly confronted with the fact that we’re the same as any other country, we’re not exceptional. There’s also a lot of economic loss; many of the industries that were placed under governmental control for wartime production weren’t given back to their private holders.”_

_War brought other ills. Caught unprepared, the country was unable to brace for yearly disasters, lacked money and personnel to coordinate controlled burns in the west, could barely shield already fragile floating coastal cities in time for storm season, and was bombarded with continual bomb cyclones in the east while witnessing record highs of homelessness. The post-war paranoia of the federal government, now full of military hawks, kept the funding focus on the military, not civilian needs. The infrastructure and energy grids that were built up and reinforced throughout the latter 21 st century were once again fractured and left neglected. Bureaus and agencies lost funds, their approaches said to be too soft and fluffy, resulting in unnecessary and harmful consolidation and simplification of offices at the highest levels of government. To “incentivize efficiency”, private companies were invited to directly invest in, and fund projects together with the government, to boost tight-squeezed budgets. This is the foundation of many of our agencies and institutions today, including the Galaxy Garrison. _

_The early commercially oriented missions of the newly minted Garrison were “extremely unpopular,” says Pariyar, dryly and with an air of extreme understatement. “The ISS program almost lapses. We get a lot of memes and variety shows joking about how many times we go to Mars and never find anything new, or why we bother having a colony out there like we do on the moon, which is really just a couple scientists doing research. There’s a lot of political commentary about how we need to forget about colonizing other planets when we were just on the brink of a sort of colonization ourselves, and that its time to concentrate resources at home. The Garrison is still producing top-tier science, but the academics are shunted into a very small cardboard box.”_

_Pariyar is careful to state that people still believed in science in the early years after the war – more specifically, they believed that science was what would allow humanity to progress and improve, and was the primary mode in which they should pursue growth. “Kerberos was really just the final nail in the coffin,” they say. “After the war, when there’s an opportunity to rebuild, and in a way that eliminates the structural inequities that were very much criticized in the very early 21 st century, the federal government doesn’t do that. It doesn’t put a call out to engineers and architects to repave streets and create newer, fairer principles of urban planning. It doesn’t rehaul out-of-date computer systems or put techies to work recoding aging public health, tax administration, and voting registration systems. Instead it’s all about cybersecurity and the bug bounty. It’s about sinking money into defense R&D. You have major protests and uprisings erupting all over the country, an unprecedented level of mutual aid and civil organizing, because people are recognizing that they are the only ones who can help themselves.” _

_This specific cultural moment was the setting for the Kerberos Mission. The mission itself was uniquely created out of public and academic pressure as proof that the Garrison, that technology and science, still worked for the people and not just for the commercial companies that could pay to play. The perception of corrupting economic interests interfering with the public good, at the expense, in more ways than one, of the public, had especially intensified after the embezzlement and divestment scandals revealed to be seeding the Department of Defense and the Justice Department._

_“The public is really starting to almost think of their own government as a war profiteer,” Pariyar says. “It’s a watershed moment. So when Kerberos was announced, it was understood that the public stakes of the mission were very high.”_

_Shirogane’s qualifications as pilot for the mission were hard to argue against – he was a consistent top scorer in the sims, had previous mission experience, and was himself working on an astronomy degree. Unlike many other pilot applicants of the program, he was not a Garrison trainee, but an alumnus of the Global Aerospace Investigations Alliance, or GAIA, training program based in Japan, sent to the Garrison for a second rotation. He had trained primarily to fly space missions._

_“Shirogane was an outlier, an outsider, in a lot of ways,” muses Tahar Rezgui, an academic colleague of Sam Holt, the distinguished Mission Specialist for Kerberos. “He wasn’t really part of the Garrison structure. Sam was also the Mission Specialist for Shirogane’s first mission, that’s how they got to know each other. Shirogane rotated to the Garrison specifically for that mission. He went straight into training and mission mode, so he never got the chance to socially integrate with the other fighter pilots on site at the Arizona Garrison. They’re quite insular, so they might not have accepted him much anyway.”_

_“Shirogane was a singular kind of pilot,” says Lieutenant Kihyun Ryu, who teaches the Garrison flight modules that Shirogane often assisted with. “Really precise, smooth flying. Really emotionally intelligent too, he had this way of leveling with people that worked great with the students. He could work with anyone. I think that was a key part of his success. Kept his nose clean.”_

_But how did the rest of the Garrison see him? When I pose this question, Ryu grimaces. “Because of how he entered the Garrison, and his unbeatable stats, he had a potent reputation as a star pilot.” The Lieutenant shrugs. “Fighter pilots, you know what they’re like. And like I said, he knew how to keep his nose clean, but the other pilots must have said all sorts of things behind his back. There’s intense competition in the program and Shirogane was a wily one. Sometimes it made people think he had connections or was this kind of grand manipulator. But you know, I didn’t get that sense working with him. He really loved to fly, and he never lorded it over anybody, kept it humble. Actually, he seemed kind of uncomfortable with the attention.”  
_

_Rezgui corroborates this reading. “Oh yeah,” she laughs. “Sam told me hated the PR. Absolutely hated it. We had a group dinner at his and Colleen’s place once and Shirogane was there, and he was not about the diplomatic appearances or playing nice with reporters, much less the Garrison. I got the impression he was strong-armed into it. He’s good at it but his real interest is in space. That’s why he got along really well with the Holts; I always think of Shirogane as a scholar at heart.”_

_Typically, space mission pilots have a background in the Air Force, or in test piloting. Shirogane had neither but boasted previous space flight time from GAIA resupply missions and a deployment mission to Venus. He also aced the fighter pilot tests that the Garrison posed him, and his academic background leant him ballast in a task-heavy mission. “It’s important to remember that ice core retrieval was just one of the many objectives of the mission – mission crew really thought it was important to get as much out of this mission as we could. We weren’t sure if we would get another chance,” says Kimberley Diaz, former vice head of the Kerberos Mission, who has since accepted a professorship at Carnegie Mellon. “The mission route was the furthest thing from a cakewalk. It requires the pilot to navigate through the Kuiper belt and stall near volatiles and Kuiper Belt objects that meet certain criteria, so they had to be highly skilled and adaptable.”_

_How did Shirogane stack up? “Honestly, we were really relieved,” Diaz says. “Demonstrated space flight capabilities and judgment, great reflexes, passed the sim we put together for worst-case scenarios. That sim was built on a reactive algorithm, it never ran through the same route. He scored above proficient every time. Pilots like Shirogane who go through the GAIA program are really highly respected because they produce results like this, and very consistently. Of course, Garrison pilots are nothing to sniff at either, but the training emphasizes different things. It’s a very different culture.”_

_The culture at the Garrison has been a subject of long scrutiny, including citations of bullying, toxic infighting, hazing, and intensive recruiting from middle and high schools across the country. The educational programs operate with a military flavor, with extreme competition among students, or as the Garrison calls them, cadets, in the flight program. Fighter pilots are at the top of the food chain, with sim scores overly valued._

_“Sim scores do get a lot of talk,” Ryu says, “But I think the better estimate of a pilot is in a team run. With a sim, it’s just a pilot and the controls. But in team runs, cadets are modeling out more real-life scenarios. They have to work with a navigator and an engineer and interpret incoming information from other members of their flight squad to successfully complete the run. Success in the sims doesn’t mean success in team runs. The team runs really reveal the essence of a pilot. It comes down to attitude.”_

_Let me review what I’ve found out so far: Shirogane, for all intents and purposes, was a very competent pilot with a noted interest in space missions, who was somewhat alienated from his cohort by culture or by timing, who was good at working with others and did not enjoy being in the public eye. His lack of military affiliation made him an attractive choice for a mission meant to prove that the Garrison could still provide research and innovation for the benefit of the wider public. So why pilot error?_

_“Shirogane did have a muscular disorder,” Diaz confirms, “And a bit of a rebellious streak, not that I blame him. It was more of an issue for the brass. Shirogane’s been in and out of medbays since he’s been in training. He’s been given teaching assignments and probationary missions that a Garrison fighter pilot would find insulting in the name of requalification. Was there some risk? Yes. But we had an action plan. And we would not have sent him up on such a critical and extensive mission if we thought he would not be able to do his job.” She gives me a wry look. “I know other people have been thinking this, so let me just be blunt: Shirogane also wasn’t American. And he was the first, and only space pilot of color to launch any space missions from the Garrison. I respect the hell out of Dr. Holt and his son, but out of the three of them who do you think is the easier target?”_

_Medbay head Liam Lalounis also sticks by his initial assessment of Shirogane’s health. “His disorder didn’t have a specific diagnosis, which made a lot of the brass nervous. But medicine is just like that sometimes, and that’s the hard truth,” he says nonchalantly. “But the symptoms were fairly consistent and he already had a habit of managing the worst of it himself. Electrostim bracelets helped a lot. If anything, I thought Shirogane was very admirable.”_

_According to Lalounis, Shirogane’s disorder was life threatening, but the verdict was broadly misinterpreted. The biggest risk for Shirogane would have been after he returned to Earth, when he would have to cope with the full weight of gravity, musculoskeletal atrophy, loss of muscle and bone density, and the numerous other side effects of going into space. “If he didn’t go to Kerberos and stuck to local missions he probably could have flown until his late 30s, but after Kerberos? He might not be able to fly again.”_

_Lieutenant Ryu confirms that Shirogane’s illness was something of an open secret. “But not a lot of people knew either. Typical Shirogane. It didn’t seem to affect his day to day though, or if it did, he might have hid it. Some of us who did know suspected it was part of why he picked up that protégé of his.”_

_Shirogane’s protégé haunts the Garrison as much as Shirogane himself does. Having entered the Garrison at the high school level, he was personally recruited by Shirogane into the flight program after a visit to a local middle school. A foster kid rumored to be a discipline case, Keith Kogane threw the Garrison into a tizzy, breaking Shirogane’s sim records and flouting any and all social conventions. He received frequent citations for fighting and disruption in class, but consistently scored highly among practical and academic exams, though his team run scores were low. He and Shirogane were known to be close friends, and shortly following the pilot error announcement, Kogane was expelled from the Garrison for fighting, supposedly out of grief. No one seems to know where he went, but rumor says he’s occasionally spotted in Plaht City working as a courier. At the time, there was no media coverage on his disappearance._

_“Like I said, Shirogane had a rebellious streak,” Diaz chuckles, when I ask her about Kogane. “He and Kogane were two peas in a pod. Got along like a house on fire. Makes you think about him differently, huh? But ah, fighter pilots. It’s hard to know what’s actually going on. Kogane came around a couple times. He was pretty quiet, unobtrusive. I swear he was trying to disappear into the walls.”_

_Ryu gives a more sober version of events. “Kogane was inconsolable after the announcement. Devastated. He was really mourning Shirogane. That last outburst? It’s ‘cause he saw the Kerberos Mission run in the sims. I don’t know if it’s common knowledge, but that route got added to the sim curriculum. And he wouldn’t do it. He refused to run that sim. The other fighter pilot cadets, the TA at the time, they kept pressuring him. And he exploded, like anyone still grieving would. He’s a foster kid with a reputation, deserved or not. No one was going to ask after him, no one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. It was inconvenient.” He lapses into brooding silence, brows knotted. “Look, Kogane was a really driven kid. He worked hard, really hard. And it’s the fighter pilot program. They chew you up and spit you out. Our counselors are overworked. The entire situation is pretty f***ed up.”_

_‘It’s the fighter pilot program’. This phrase is mentioned to me throughout these conversations in the same way one might say, ‘boys will be boys’, or any other tired, overdue statement that sweeps bad behavior under the rug. In light of more recent Garrison scandals, it’s a warning. This year, just two months before Shirogane’s likeness appeared on YouTube, three more cadets went missing without explanation. They are still on the watchlist for local authorities. Cadet Leandro Alejandro Nuñez Cuesta Espinosa filled the open slot in the fighter pilot program that Kogane had left, and his friend from the engineering program, Hunk Garrett, frequently worked with him in team runs, along with navigator Pidge Gunderson. The three cadets were discovered missing at curfew but were never found. Shirogane’s reappearance, maybe dead, maybe alive, but raging all the same, seemed like an omen, a sort of modern day, digital haunting._

_“Do I know what’s happening at the Garrison?” Diaz snorts. “Does the Garrison know what’s happening at the Garrison? I don’t think they do. There are great people there, truly, and they’re doing important work, but they’re getting buried by the brass. There’s no interest in investing in the research. They’re mismanaging the whole effort up and down. Commercial and military interests should have no place in the education of teens, much less sway over what gets studied and what doesn’t. We’ve had this argument before. Myself, Sam, and Jiayi [referring to Kerberos Mission head, Jiayi Sun], we’ve all made this very argument before. What’s happening now, it’s tragic, but I’m not surprised. As Shirogane once told me: the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”_

_In previous years, the Garrison already bore a high dropout rate, around 35%. Since Shirogane’s supposed death, the increasing disorder at the Garrison has seen that percentage rise. Right after the disappearance of Espinosa, Garrett, and Gunderson, parents withdrew their children from Garrison programs en masse. Currently, only 58% of the original cohort remains. The bulk of the fighter and cargo pilots are funneled towards the Air Force and new aircraft testing, space missions bringing only a scant 12% of graduating fighter pilots onto their mission rosters. The majority of active space missions cater to the needs of the ISS and the Mars and Moon colonies, while more exploratory missions stick to local space, making tentative swipes at Mercury and Venus. Satellite launches for imaging and readings have dropped by 60%, with few of them on the scale of the New Horizons launch that first discovered Kerberos. Only with the infusion of GAIA funding does the Garrison proceed with deeper space missions like those around Saturn and Jupiter, finally echoing the triumphs of the mid-21 st century’s Calypso mission. Shirogane too, had a hand in those missions._

_“I think what you see is Shirogane acting as an extension of GAIA in those missions,” Rezgui says. “He’s there to help lead them on GAIA’s behalf, though he’s still submitting applications according to proper protocol. It’s clear that without GAIA, those missions wouldn’t happen at all. There wouldn’t be deep space anything. Even the newer deep space satellites, they’re launched during these GAIA missions. The board and the brass are almost certainly aware of this.”_

_A look into post-mission reports reveal that the Saturn and Jupiter missions, while also deep space, functioned more like Garrison commission. Funding was predominately produced by GAIA, as was the motivation – these missions had their origins in ongoing GAIA funded studies and projects, and while there was little hesitation in sharing data with Garrison scientists, they would have to fill out data transfer contracts. Despite the prolific and demonstrated interest of GAIA in using space exploration to benefit mankind, the Garrison has long refused to join the consortium, citing a desire for independence. This has been broadly interpreted in the public realm as a sort of petty stubbornness and determination to keep the Garrison beholden to the business and military interests that created it. The additional significance of Kerberos then, was the Garrison’s intention to make a statement that it could and would compete with GAIA for preeminence. It was the first deep space mission predominately funded by the Garrison, with the data going back to Garrison scientists’ projects._

_When Kerberos failed, the effort backfired. The verdict of pilot error was interpreted as a jab at the quality of GAIA’s training programs. GAIA promptly withdrew 65% of its general funding to the Garrison, rejected Garrison bids for missions out to proposal, and cancelled any ongoing negotiations for further partnered missions. The statement was clear – GAIA had formerly been willing to work with the Garrison regardless of membership and make attempts at diplomacy, but now, those efforts would end. Public response was swift and decisive: the Garrison had failed and was trying to cover up. Some agreed that Shirogane was not fit to pilot and decried the Garrison for having him pilot anyway, some pointed to the mission’s social media feed, which had documented Shirogane’s nifty maneuvering during asteroid showers and fields full of volatiles, and asked how a crash landing could have occurred. The last post on the feed includes a photo of Kerberos looming large, front and center. “Touchdown expected in three more hours!” the cheerful caption reads. Within the next 72 hours, all three crew members would be missing and presumed dead._

_“The most infuriating part is that we know the craft landed,” Diaz says. “There was no crash landing. That’s simply not something you can argue because myself and anyone else at Mission Control that day were there to pick up when Shirogane radioed in and confirmed the landing. In fact, I remember it real well because he made himself sound like he was landing a commercial aircraft. It was an easy landing. And we know the crew was puttering around Kerberos for at least a day because they were already transmitting images and data back. We kept getting readings for three days, before everything went silent. And we don’t know what happened.”_

_Rezgui has tears in her eyes when she recounts the call she received from Colleen Holt. “She told me, ‘They’re lying, Tahar, Sam messaged me just yesterday, Shiro messaged his parents yesterday,’ and she comes over and shows me the pictures. And they’re pictures of Matt and Sam taking selfies on Kerberos. It’s her husband and son, and my friend up there and we just don’t know what happened to them. And the Garrison says it’s too troublesome to find out. That they’re not worth it.”_

_About eight months ago, a YouTube account belonging to the band No Known Universe posted a video. In it, Shirogane announced he had survived whatever had happened on Kerberos, was fearful of pursuit by the Garrison, and had returned to warn Earth against what many have speculated is suggested alien invasion. Shortly after, a debut EP was released focusing on the Kerberos Mission from Shirogane’s point of view. Another two tracks followed months later, to explain backstory. The entire debacle is set in wording that suggests a rebellion, a fight for righteous causes. Voltron is a frequent keyword, the name of an unimaginably powerful weapon created from five interlocking robot Lions, the stuff of Sunday morning cartoons and years of transforming robot franchises._

_With this bewildering resurrection, Shirogane brought Kerberos roaring back to public consciousness, and continued to stand by his story. Aside from the figure of Princess Allura, who accompanied Shirogane in a subsequent YouTube video, no one knows who the other members of the band are, much less how many people are actually involved. The band has gone to lengths to build out their concept. They have created two translator module plugins for the languages featured in their songs, attributed to the sister planets that are the origin of their story’s conflict, which have been verified to indeed be full, functioning languages and not just vocalizations. To tease an elaborate star map, the band coded their twist on a replica of the early 20 th century Space Invaders game, and the map itself was widely praised as a first-time aggregate of the many open source data sets available from different space agencies. The map also indicated that much of the No Known Universe story takes place beyond the reach of current space science and foreshadowed an imminent third album release. _

_Speculation is rife. The band is a deepfake hoax, the entire thing is a Garrison PR stunt, the Kerberos Mission was made to fail so GAIA could detach from the Garrison, the story is a capitalist metaphor about exploitation and the rise of the common people, Shirogane is alive and everything he says is true, Shirogane is alive and is the second coming of Christ, Shirogane is the Devil come to test us before the coming of days, nothing makes sense but at least the band shreds. Public discussion of the group tends to focus on select topics: the music and the concept, whether or not Shirogane is alive, and whether or not Shirogane is telling the truth. There is a deep discomfort in entertaining Shirogane’s truth – where is his evidence, how could aliens exist, and how exactly are we supposed to fight against a supposed intergalactic imperialistic power? Maybe he is telling the truth, someone might suggest, before the conversation breaks off in an uncomfortable series of trailing titters. No one really knows what’s happening, and Shirogane isn’t planning on telling anytime soon. No Known Universe albums are only accessible through Bandcamp, their only social media account is on Twitter and consists of just the few tweets of their album announcements and PR links, and they don’t do live shows. There is no other contact information for them._

_So, I pose the question to each of my interviewees, each of whom has had a unique insight into Shirogane: do you think he’s still alive?_

_“Well…it would be nice if Shirogane was alive,” Lalounis sighs, “But if he is, I would imagine he would be in a lot of pain, possibly of the debilitating sort. I haven’t listened to any of that music since it’s not really to my taste, so I don’t really know the official story.”_

_“I can’t really believe it,” admits Ryu. “Kerberos is so far out. How would he even make it back here? And no one has seen him, right? I mean…I do check out the Shirospotting hashtag sometimes…I guess I’m hoping if he’s really out there somehow, that he’s okay. He got a real hard shake. But really? A full-on alien invasion? We’re the Garrison, not Roswell.”_

_“As a historian, the entire shape of this has been exciting and fascinating to follow,” Pariyar says, “There have been many twists and turns, and the story that’s been built around Shirogane is an intriguing one. Personally though, my heart goes out to the Shiroganes and the Holts. It’s been an unending ordeal for them. So part of me thinks that what No Known Universe is doing borders on disrespectful…but I’m waiting to see how things progress. In my opinion, it’s easier to believe that Shirogane didn’t survive, for whatever reasons. But if he did, well, then there’s nothing more natural than writing about your own experience, no? And it would be a wonderfully unexpected pivot.”_

_“He’s alive,” Rezgui says firmly, resolutely. “I don’t know what happened or why he’s doing what he is now, but I know what Colleen showed me and I believe her. I believe in Sam’s faith in him, and I hope he really is helping Sam and Matt get home somehow. And the music really is very good, as are the liner notes.”_

_“Yeah no, this completely jives,” Diaz says, cackling. “Here, let me show you a thing.” She waves me over to her laptop, where she pulls up YouTube and opens a playlist. “These are unlisted, so they’re hard to find. Lucky you.”_

_The video is titled, “My Famed Disappearing Act, Thank You Scientist – Full Cover”, posted by user shirobaekshiro with description text that reads simply: “Heading out in about nine days and change. Thank you very much everyone for your support <3” The speakers erupt with a loud, flowing set of guitar notes and the smattering of precise cymbal beats. The side by side, two window setup showing disembodied hands beating at a drum set and moving fluidly over a guitar makes it immediately obvious that what I’m looking at is a DIY cover video. The screen splits into six as more instruments join in, revealing Shirogane on the bottom three screens rocking away at the drums, electric guitar, and a violin, while a young teen with black hair takes the top three, nodding to the beat as short, abrupt notes bleat from a trumpet and saxophone, hands standby on bass. It’s of impressive quality, especially with just two people shouldering the parts of an entire band. _

_“This is Shirogane,” Diaz says, tapping a finger over the exuberant face grinning atop a neck rest, the song building into a solid wall of symphonic chords. She moves the finger towards the rocking body of Shirogane’s friend, grooving away on the trumpet. “And this rascal’s Kogane. Shirogane used to do these on his own, stress relief, Sam said, but about a year and a half after they met apparently they started doing these covers together. This is the lighter stuff, even, he might be moving back to this eventually.” She smiles fondly at the screen as an unexpected vocal part sails in, clear and resonant. It sounds familiar. “Like I said, makes you think about him differently, doesn’t it?”_

**Canihaz** @canihaz

SHIROGANE TAKASHI is INCITING TREASON against our country and the institution that helps keeps OUR SKIES SAFE!! he has BRAINWASHED cadets, is UNGRATEFUL and should be ARRESTED!! You fann00bs should be ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!!

**i said im a feminazgul** @eatmyfist

aite guys this is a PSA: Shirogane Takashi is getting twitter hate and is now completely valid. It’s official. One of us. QED. #FormVoltron

**In Your Local Denny’s** @brunchinner

lol I can just see how much this person wanted to shout “FANGIRLS!!!” but couldn’t acknowledge that nonmasc folx can be metal and prog fans too that’s just typical

**24/7 authentic content** @readyourcomprehension

Every time a person gets somewhere on their own merit some asshole is like BE GRATEFUL like they’re owed something. Shirogane got the posting fair and square. This has been extensively documented.

**METAL IS RESISTANCE** @METALFORALL

FASCIST METALHEADS FUCK OFF. NAZI METALHEADS FUCK OFF. NSBM FANS FUCK OFF.

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Let’s get personal. Meet Voltron, and the story of events thus far. This is older and bigger than us; that’s why we’ll need your help. Thank you for joining us on this journey. #FormVoltron

[embedded link: Dissenters, Spies, and Unheroics, by No Known Universe / 4 track album / noknownuniverse.bandcamp.com]

**Not that Karen, CHARON** @charonness

NEW *clap emoji* NKUVERSE *clap emoji**clap emoji**clap emoji* #FormVoltron

**metalhead, but soft** @pastelshreddd

*monty python voice* and now for something completely different #FormVoltron

**$Nadie$ commissions are open!** @nobodybutyou

So. State of the Energy in the Universe. Can we talk about this. ambient space noises to cuteass chillwave with Bill Nye style narration, then a nosedive into the sludgiest of grooves like real Thou filth. But then. THX. #NKUverse

**No Need for Ash** @grayerthanash

I was super offended when the track ended with the fucking THX bass boost noise. why do they have to attack us like this. Complete monsters.

**Kendall** **the pedal reviewer** @moarfuzzrequired

The new album is pure chaotic energy. It’s all over the place. It’s shitpost-tastic. I LIKE THAT. #FormVoltron

**my life for dotpaper** @stationerynerd

#FormVoltron OKAY THO if you have the translator plugins listen to the tracks with them on!! Literally an alternate POV snuck in with the quiet muttering at the start of Stereomyth and in the middle of Power and Control!!

**Pat, calligraphy slots open!** @illustrious-pat

It sounds like Red does this mean what I think it means?!?!

**my life for dotpaper** @stationerynerd

Red does seem to handle all the Blade related parts!! The story definitely hints that they’re Galra. If they are, that’s an interesting story move.

**Unfortunately Named Chad** @yesmynameischad

At this point I really hope #ShiroLives so we can finally know what’s going on the liner notes make me feel like someone shook around my brain and dumped all the neurons out. Until then I’ll keep replaying the swashbuckley part of Stereomyth, arrr #FormVoltron

**Aron** @ronaron

Today in what’s hiding in the NKUverse liner notes: A STORY TIMELINE AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS. LYRICS AND TRANSLATIONS. THE NKU JOURNEY VIEW. Thank the lord. #FormVoltron

**Shane // fiber arts warrior** @shanesheepe

Ok is it just me or is NKU getting more chaotic in a good way? Konami Code just has such a different approach – the distortion, textures, genre mixing, new voices on record THIS IS THE FIRST TRACK #FormVoltron

**Shane // fiber arts warrior** @shanesheepe

each voice brings diff influences! Blue has a bolero son lead in with violins&sax, Yellow gets a dub beat & trumpet line before the drumsnbass intro for Green. Red’s backed by whispery, lullaby-ish vocals and strong beats that sound kinda powwowstep

**Shane // fiber arts warrior** @shanesheepe

Can’t forget Shirogane bridging all the parts with beautiful minyo vocalizations that somehow work regardless of the instrumentals and Allura’s bowwork…ethereal. I can’t stop listening

**Shane // fiber arts warrior** @shanesheepe

Lmao but by the time we get to Power and Control it’s this massive wall of sound bouncing off the walls with these mathy starts and stops and genre interludes that just refer back to Konami Code. whoever is cartoon villain laughing is gold

**i write sins AND tragedies** @sad-atthecoffeeshop

Def not just you!! they branched out so much on this album, makes me wonder what pushed the change. I liked that they followed up the laughing with someone talking about things seriously. It’s such a moodmaker for the story

**Foxy Rescue** @fleetfennecfoxes

To their credit NKUverse has always had a p wide sonic palette and the heavier, darker sounds are still there. But also they’re trolls and like to play – agree with the moodmaking too, music always showing how “characters” feel

**Foxy Rescue** @fleetfennecfoxes

taking things seriously – that’s the reminder for the paladins who are kind of surprised by what they ended up in. The band is always comparing things like that, like the death metal gurgle over that really cheerful section in Stereomyth

**i write sins AND tragedies** @sad-atthecoffeeshop

ngl that gurgle surprises me every time i don’t expect it at all because of the genre association. What also gets me is that State of Energy has an overt pop sound but the drums are still definitely metal and the bass is funky

**Shane // fiber arts warrior** @shanesheepe

HECK YEAH the tonal switches in State of Energy seem to refer to Altea’s story in the last album like putting pieces together. NKU are really good at genre play and mashing elements together. I’m really loving this album because of that

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

You have questions. We maybe have answers. Join us on Reddit for an AMA at 8pm EST tonight. #FormVoltron

**/r/IAmA**

[AMA IS OVER!!! AS ALWAYS THANKS FOR JOINING!]  
**hi we’re no known universe :3c**

And we come color coded for your convenience!

[insert photo: fuzzy screenshot from the Perseids livestream, with each costumed band member identified with a single letter, except for the person wearing black armor, who is labeled “S(hiro).” Photoshopped into one corner is Allura, from the YouTube commentary video.]

We’re the digital-only band No Known Universe and our spokeShiro would like to thank you once more for believing he’s not dead. He would also like to say that he is not Jesus, or Satan. He is just a dude. All of us are present to answer your questions, though we reserve the right not to answer things, considering circumstances. We will not be responding to trolls or hateful comments. Thanks for your interest, and as always, thanks for joining the fight.

**coffeehacker131  
**Really excited to see you guys doing an AMA, I love your music!! We don’t know much about the band, could we get a rundown of who plays and does what? Perseid livestream sure, but it seems like a lot more elements have been introduced since then.

**noknownuniverse  
**things kind of switch around sometimes. Largely, it’s Allura with the zniyvleaiek, Shiro and K on drums and electric guitar, L on electric guitar, P on keyboard/synth, H on bass. You mentioned the stream – Shiro and K swap off on guitar and drum duty because Shiro’s prosthetic tends to alter the guitar tone a little bit when he taps. Depending on how nitpitcky they feel, they might sub in for one another on a day. Allura didn’t formally join instrumentals until the second record. Shiro also plays violin, and K is our one-man brass section. Classical guitar is L’s arena.

P and H are also our techs, so if there are other weird sounds and effects that make you pause, it’s probably down to their cool sound design. We have two other really great people and band friends who have been constantly supporting us since day one, and they help us out a lot with the tech, the socials and uploading, and just generally cheering us on. We’d be toast without them.

**Rifferific231  
**this is awesome, I always wondered how large the band was becoming. based on the my favorite flower commentary, you guys work pretty closely with your producers. Is there a certain way you like to collaborate or get field recordings?

**noknownuniverse  
**we don’t do any field recording. any effects were made and recorded by P and H, and any samples used were from open source, Creative Commons files. There were public recordings of electromagnetic pulses from planets converted into soundwaves that we used on State of Energy, for instance. we’re also self produced, so it’s really just constantly talking about what we want the album to end up like. K and Shiro have the most experience with self-production so they guide a lot of the discussion on album structure and what we want to include, but otherwise, the floor’s open. K and P work a lot with the production of the album with H, who handles all the mechanics and mics to get the right sound. Like we said, H and P also work on all the effects and extra samples and add that in. After that, Shiro and K work on the final mix and master together, though everyone gets review time before publishing on BC.

**DOOMsludgegroove  
**The tone of the guitars and the synth is always pitch perfect. Is there gear that you guys prefer to use, or favorite pedals, things like that?

**noknownuniverse  
**This answer is going to disappoint you and other music gearheads, but we’re pretty much using Shiro’s guitars and the drum kit me and him pieced together. So no real sponsorship or preferences, just whatever we could scrounge up. Getting them out of storage was a fun group trip. The zniyvleaiek, classical guitar, and brass instruments are Allura’s, L’s, and my own, respectively. We got some upgraded keyboard things, but P and H pretty much took them all apart to recustomize, so nothing is at factory setting at this point. As for effects pedals…we kind of just shot for price point and functionality and got some off Reverb. We thought it would be interesting to work with more of a grab bag. – K

**Shaunthenonbeliever  
**What do you guys do with the Bandcamp revenue?

**noknownuniverse  
**Invest in the stock market like any other reasonable adult, duh. I kid, mostly we reinvest it in the band, but also, we need to eat. Things being what they are, some of us aren’t able to get much work. In the meantime, we’re pooling together our resources and using the album funds to stay afloat. – L

**shouldistayorgo  
**Who is the one doing the villain cackle in Power and Control?

**noknownuniverse  
**That’s one of our two band friends! He’s very dramatic and effusive, so we thought he’d have fun. But he kept laughing that way for two more weeks… – Allura

**garigarikun  
**how often does the band practice?

**noknownuniverse  
** We practice pretty much every day. At least for an hour or so together. In fact, we basically talk about the next project near constantly. It really pays off, it lets us experiment with different things and listen to stuff together to figure out what we like. K and Shiro are both really driven and goal-oriented so they make sure we don’t forget. Sometimes in a way that’s not so great for us though… – L

I’ll say. We do practice a lot. And it’s good, we have to because we’re all sort of new to this band stuff. But oh my god, when we’re late. K does this thing where he walks around playing the reveille super fast, as loudly as he can. He says its good for his stamina, but we’ve seen him fight, he doesn’t need any more of that. – P

We all have very bad Pavlovian reactions to reveille now. But if it’s not reveille, Shiro and K will entertain themselves with meme songs but like, expert level. For an entire month it was that one DragonForce song. Another month it was NyanCat on violin at high speed with extra flourish. Sometimes its old anime songs, or songs they know are too noisy for us and we don’t like. It’s their way to warm up and practice arrangements, and it’s actually also a really effective way to let us know it’s practice time. There was this one Mario prog metal cover that was starting to come together that sounded pretty good. In general they play a bit more than we do; their music tastes are more similar. But I think if it weren’t for the practice the albums wouldn’t be so coherent. It’s just hard to keep the pressure on all the time, so in a way I’m grateful they’re willing to take the lead. – H 

I like the constant practice since I’m still understanding Earth music. Watching K and Shiro talk about their composition process is really helpful, and they’re always willing to answer questions. We’re at all different levels with our instruments, so it keeps us in step together. Everyone has so many ideas, it’s wonderful to be in the room when there’s so much positive energy. – Allura

Everyone’s talking like they don’t all practice on their own, too. I can hear you guys grinding away for hours, you know. You can’t fool me. Anyway, me and Shiro haven’t been able to play together for a long time, so it feels good to be able to just jam and cover old favorites. But we do generally set aside an hour or two for joint practice every day so we can keep progress. Shiro’s warm up favorites are Abnormalize, Shinwa Houkai, Seishun Kyousoukyoku, and Ano hi no Time Machine. He’ll play anything by the cabs and tricot. – K

Practice doubles as our idea sessions, so meeting daily is really important. We’ll skip sometimes if we go really hard on the weekend or end up in a really good flow on a weekday session. But I like to think the frequency of practice and our investment in the events and happenings we talk about on each album are really helping us be a better team. We’re definitely more in each other’s pockets now. That part is pretty nice. K IS A SNITCH who likes to warm up to Animals As Leaders, Meshuggah, Nate Smith, and Progger. He likes tricot and ling tosite sigure too smh. – Shiro

**shoshanabanana  
**the change in tone on the most recent album has been so interesting, particularly the explosion of different vocal parts. How does the band usually get ideas for lyrics or who sings what part, or how you want to deliver a part?

**noknownuniverse  
**I work on lyrics a lot with Lance and Shiro. The albums are quite meticulously planned, we generally know what we’ll cover in each one before we start, and what we want to cover in each song, though there’s always some surprises in the studio. Everything we yell, sing, and talk about is something one of us has personally experienced, so in a lot of cases we’ll let whoever experienced it take the vocal lead, unless they really don’t want to. Usually lyric team works together with the vocal lead to workshop lines and we go from there. – Allura

Lyrics is tough because we’ve had to really talk about our experiences with each other and make sure we represent each other correctly. I feel like I know everyone a lot better than I did than when we first started out. The most recent album is also the most personal, so I think there’s more variety because you hear all of us on it. But that’s what makes it satisfying too. – L

When it comes to assigning vocals, it winds down to mood. Generally, I think we compose with a lot of attention to mood, so the vocals follow that process also, and there are plenty of heavier bands that have multiple vocalists. We’re all good at different things. P is really good at yelping, me and K are used to screaming and growling and gurgling and all that, but K can also actually transition from screaming to singing in the same line, which I can’t do too well. H is also our only baritone, so he can give us some extra oomph in the bass while still being understandable…K has this really dark growl but everything is basically incomprehensible by that point. The rest of us have lighter sounding voices. L has a more evocative spoken word style, and it turns out Alteans do something that’s a bit more like throat-singing. So a lot of our narrative lyric has us piling on top of each other or doing harmonies because we think it sounds more rounded out that way. We’re helping each other enhance the feel, it’s more dynamic and has more movement, and it just sounds better. It’s a group effort after all. And also, why not? – Shiro

**printscreenandpress  
**piggybacking off this one since Shiro mentioned the role of mood in composition. One of the things I found most fascinating about the last album was how mismatch in expectations for music genres and styles affected the mood of the song as a whole, like the chiptune bits in Power and Control that are really cheerful, compared to really apocalyptic scenes. What was the thought behind that decision?

**noknownuniverse  
**this kind of goes back to the reason why we’re doing all this – which is that everything was a little unbelievable. I was constantly anxious on the Castleship for the first month or so. I could only look at things with my head turned to the side, because it felt like if I faced things straight on, I would just freak out and never stop freaking out. And I still wake up with my heart hammering and I look up at the ceiling and realize this is my life and this is for real. we talked a lot about bringing that sort of personal urgency and uncertainty to this album. – H

the scale of everything related to the war is ridiculous. 10,000 years!! For us, 10,000 years ago was the transition between the Old and final Stone Ages, Paleolithic and Neolithic. From a tech standpoint, everything’s amazing, even if alchemy makes me want to rip out my hair. H gets me. But that means the destruction is horrific too. I’ve always thought it was statistically impossible for us to be alone in the universe, but blowing up ships, watching planets have their quintessence sucked dry, seeing our allies get blown up and knowing they’re pinning their hopes on you – it’s really a lot, and I didn’t always want to care in the beginning because of that. But all those guys were someone else’s family too. – P

The paladinship is a duty and a purpose and lives are at stake. At the same time, our own lives have become really, really weird. Everything feels a little absurd. If we were a book genre we wouldn’t even be hard sci-fi. But if you’re asking why the songs are so all over the place, it’s probably the trauma talking. I mean, it’s only an entire universe out there to protect and watch over, so no pressure, right? – K

**abagofmichaelkeaton  
**any chance you guys will ever perform live?

**noknownuniverse  
**Sorry, no. Maybe we’ll stream again sometime.

**Apotheosis_nigh  
**Why all the secrecy? I mean we already know Shirogane and Allura. If that Vanity Fair article has any truth to it, K is probably Keith Kogane. So why not reveal yourselves? Afraid we’ll call you out?

**noknownuniverse  
**The partial anonymity is for our safety. We don’t know what would happen if we were to be open about our whereabouts or identities. We’ve been quite clear about that in our music, especially the first album. There are real risks for us. We would like to live more openly in the future, but we would have to see how things go. Right now that still doesn’t seem quite possible. And call us out on what? As I have said, all the material we have presented comes from our own personal experience. We are here despite our apprehension. – Allura

**eyeontheperiphery  
**Would you ever consider releasing a tab book? Some of the riffs and chord progressions are really cool but my ear isn’t that well trained yet.

**noknownuniverse  
**We didn’t think hard about digital notation because we didn’t think anyone would be interested in it, but we’ll keep this in consideration!

**speedtoad  
**I freaking loved the space invaders game. It’s so on the nose with the concept. Between that and the star map, it seems like you put in a lot of effort in the PR. What inspired the idea and who did you work with to develop the game and the map? And what was the password??

**noknownuniverse  
**Me and one of our band friends developed the game and the map. It seemed kind of fitting, a good way to give an idea of Voltron. Me, L, and H play a lot of games together, and the Killbot Phantasm series is one of our favorites. We heard the dev studio thought about the series concept when playing Space Invaders at a retro arcade once, so we thought it made sense. The password was “captainplanet”.

In an earlier answer we mentioned how the scale of the war is really hard to imagine. So the star map was one way to show that and demonstrate how much it involves. Just like the whole 10,000 years ago thing, Shiro always mentions this thing about how the stars we see from Earth, the ones really far away that you can only see with giant, scientific telescopes, is light from 14 billion years ago. That’s like live action quantum theory, where space and time get all mixed up. So that’s where that map came from. All the different views got built in for the same reason. Like here’s what we know….and this is how much more we’ve experienced now. Science! – P

**helixnebula  
**the new album is rad, it hasn’t left my rotation since I got it! There’s obviously a ton of influences on the album as many have already mentioned, but there was a lot of genre mixing on the previous albums as well. You also said you compose based on mood a lot. What do you guys typically like to listen to, and did any of those influences make it on the album?

**noknownuniverse  
**well the question about practice answered some of this, but yeah, we listen to all sorts of things. And the last album was really about us, so of course some of those influences made it in. We crammed a lot into Konami Code and Stereomyth, and P and I really got a lot of leeway with State of Energy in the Universe.

I’m always a little tuned into the rap and reggae coming out of the island scene, so I really like a rhythm and a groove, but experimental pop and hiphop also have a lot of interesting textures and use of beats. P and Allura are both more mostly electronic listeners, and P really leans into the chiptune, dark synthwave, drumsn’bass stuff, but is also super interested in artists who dive into live coding and algorithmic work. They’re a coder at heart, after all. Allura seems to like techno, trance, house, but she REALLY likes ambient, drone, and field recordings. She spends a lot of time listening through whatever she can find, we built her one of those portable speakers so she can carry it around with her. L likes a little reggaeton and folktronica, but he also really likes laidback bedroom and indie pop and the chillhop, boom-bap stuff. Sometimes he goes in for the indie rock that’s kind of psychedelic, verges on punk. K actually has a thing for bluesy grooves, funk, and jazz, so he really likes the heavy fusion bands and prog metal. Shiro….Shiro zooms between bubblegum pop and extreme metal. The man is full of multitudes. – H

**hexagonpusher  
**The new album’s been great, but I’ve always wondered – why Bandcamp only? Will you guys upload to streaming eventually?

**noknownuniverse  
**We make music for album format, to be heard in album format, so we wanted to make sure all the material stays together. Bandcamp still lets you play the entire album for free, so we figured it wasn’t too bad. With streaming services, shuffling songs is the norm, and that’s really not how we operate. Also Spotify doesn’t let you include liner notes with a download DDDDD: READ THE LINER NOTES!!! – Shiro

READ THE LINER NOTES! – Allura

read the goddamn liner notes – K

read the liner notes and pay for the album so we can eat! – P

please – H

what they said – L

**kirbybae  
**what is your ideal breakfast food?

**noknownuniverse  
**H loves to cook and we are all just his taste testers. It’s a great gig. Otherwise, a set like Denny’s Grand Slam but in the greasiest diner possible. The more health violations the better. – P

Café con leche with toast, guava paste, and fruit. Oldie but a goodie and brings me right back to childhood. – L

I love breakfast!! My family always ribs me so hard about this but I really like loco moco….except replacing the rice with fa’apapa, and putting the gravy on the side. It’s salty-sweet, fragrant, and hearty and it just starts the morning off so nice. Some people really hate saltiness and sweetness together, but I like it and I think it’s really all about what you season the hamburger and gravy with. – H

Breakfast frybread tacos. Jalapeno and jack cheese added into the frybread batter, green onions and cumin in the eggs, a ton of bacon, avocado or sour cream on the side if you want it. – K

Overnight tteokbokki. It’s really important that you just let the rice cake sit in the sauce for a couple days so it soaks up all the flavor. Heat it on a stovetop, toss in a couple of eggs, keep an eye on it so the egg doesn’t cook too much. Cook some spam while you wait, until it’s a little brown on both sides, then layer it over the egg. Cover it all with cheese, and broil for a nice crust. Super good. And also great for hangover recovery in my opinion but you didn’t hear it from me!! – Shiro

**thelongforgotten  
**THALL

**noknownuniverse  
**THAAALLLLL!!!!!!!

**gimmetheamp  
**oh shit son, thall!!

**hugginitout  
**thall

**thrashyinurdashy  
** _t h a l l_

**Sunny!** @sunandmoonshine

After seeing all the #ShiroLives thinkpieces the funniest thing is how not political Shirogane is. Like yeah he says Garrison tried to shut him down and is doing a CYA but in NKU he vented everything on the first album and moved on

**Sunny!** @sunandmoonshine

he’s not ‘like the revolution is here!! fuck the system!!’ his whole thing is ‘I like space and flying but I got abducted by aliens and shat on by the Garrison and now I’m trying to inform you’. doesn’t personally talk about usgg for next two albums.

**Moon Crystal Mood** @healinanddealin

Agree with you 100% it’s such a low bar he’s implying that as long as you listen you’re part of the fight like…all I have to do is listen???? No march or donation? No doing the reading? Alright dude I can do that that’s nothing

**Sunny!** @sunandmoonshine

Not even a little “fight the power”. the wording is couched as revolutionary but that’s not really what he’s asking for. And now they’re trying to pivot on his buddy….i’m telling you reading comprehension has BEEN cancelled

**Moon Crystal Mood** @healinanddealin

No contest. People are saying the concept is a metaphor but…idk if it is it’s really messy after this third album. I hope the paps aren’t following around his buddy out there trying to creep in on his life.

**Sunny!** @sunandmoonshine

I haven’t seen much on him actually, I’m not sure they know where he is. Apparently he quit the courier job a couple months ago and no one’s seen him since. Everything’s sus.

**Moon Crystal Mood** @healinanddealin

It’s all sus as hell. Honestly the only reason they might not be going after him is that he’s young and a foster and probably just aged out. And they’d have to admit Shirogane might have a point. usgg never found those kids neither

**Sunny!** @sunandmoonshine

Shirogane doesn’t have to do anything else to expose the USGG tbh they’ll fuck it up all their own lmao. If he’s living just out of spite I can respect that too

**James Griffin** @j_griff

This thread is about Keith Kogane, because all the speculation that I’ve been seeing has been like what so many have been saying before. I went to middle school with him. I was in the fighter program with him, like many others.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

Like those many others, I was not his friend. I was probably more of a bully to him. The fight that got him his fourth write up in USGG started because I said some regrettable things about him being an orphan, because I was insecure.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

It’s inaccurate to say Keith didn’t pick fights, but he wasn’t waiting for anyone’s approval either. He didn’t follow orders or social rules for others’ benefit. He was straightforward.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

When we made fun of him for being gloomy or assert social status, he had even less reason to mind rules because they didn’t work for him. And since he didn’t we tried to ignore him, and make him the butt of the joke.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

Teachers didn’t trust him since they thought he would yell wolf, and the day Shirogane came to recruit, I remember Keith sitting off to the side. Shirogane was the one who encouraged him to try the sim anyway, despite the look on our teacher’s face.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

Keith aced that sim, and he aced every solo test sim in the program afterward, and not without practice. Like everyone said, “that’s the fighter pilot program”. He beat Shirogane’s scores. He was always number one. We resented him for it.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

We admired Shirogane. He was always collected, with a kind word. Impeccable teaching and piloting. The opposite of the attitude that was being cultivated in the program. I don’t think I understood the irony of that until he was gone.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

He and Keith were together all the time. And we resented Keith for that too. For “special treatment”. There were some unkind rumors about it. But Keith was anything but a slacker, he was all or nothing, always had his eyes ahead.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

The thing about the program is that it’s the only one left in the country for anyone who wants to fly space exploration missions. We all want that slim chance. He got in fights because we started them and goaded him to reduce the competition.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

I watched him a lot because I didn’t understand him. Talked about him all the time but didn’t talk to him. It’s funny, because now we’re all realizing we didn’t really know him or Shirogane. And he just fell apart after Shirogane was gone.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

Seeing it happen in real time woke us up a little. It was hard to watch. Shirogane and Keith were people too, and when Keith showed up in the mess hall with rings under his eyes or looking like he lost a lot of weight it was hard to forget that.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

His expulsion was anticlimactic. Simply, he was there one day and then he wasn’t. If not for our own gossip, it would’ve been like he and Shirogane never existed. They were a taboo topic. We only talked about them in the dorms.

**James Griffin** @j_griff

What I’m trying to say is, we’ve all harassed Keith enough, myself included. I’m taking this time to think about what happened more deeply, and everyone else should too. He has a right to privacy as much as anyone.

**Nadia Rezavi** @nazavi

I didn’t take you for a Keith stan Jamie but good looking out, go off!!!! That’s some major character development right there!! Only took you how many tweets

**James Griffin** @j_griff

Why am I friends with you.

**Ryan Kinkade** @ryan_kade

My name is James Griffin and in this essay with perfect punctuation on the internet I will

**Nadia Rezavi** @nazavi

LMAOOOOOOOO

**Leif** @inaleif

In the future you may want to reconsider your tactics @j_griff

**James Griffin** @j_griff

Oh buzz off

Hunk laid his spread out on the designated snack table as Pidge fiddled with the laptop settings and made sure it was connected to the bridge’s network. He’d merrily spent several weeks with Coran digging around the innards of the ship and discussing possible improvements; integrating Earth technology with a smaller Altean battleship had been interesting, if grueling. Exactly how the Alteans had managed to hide this all away under the Grand Canyon continued to be a mystery. As they took a comeback tour around the different Altean sites Keith had found in desert, Allura had identified the cave drawings as post-it notes of sorts, but also as an alchemic sort of fingerprint lock – the ink used for the drawings had been mixed with crushed Balmera crystals, and bathed in quintessence with the desired qualities. Blue’s cave lit up for Lance the same way it had what seemed like years ago, and many of the cave drawings responded to Allura’s presence as well, shining bright, almost piercing. It was a sure sign, Allura had said, eyes sparkling, that there were more pieces of Altea resting under the desert sand.

This smaller battleship had been close to Blue’s old location, tucked just a bit further away. It was still large, it had to be to contain all the lions, but had a modular design that allowed it compact down into a more manageable resting shape. Coran had recalled it being constructed as a backup for the Castleship, if the worst came to worst, decreeing it more like a House of Lions. The name had stuck. There were fewer bells and whistles, no more fancy chutes or shuttles, and the Lions were all nestled side by side in a mass hangar, but it seemed to suit them far more now.

The demands of band life had drawn them all in closer. No more urgent calls from the rebels, Coalition, or the Blade at all times, no more ship guns rattling in their ears. The mundanity of everyday existence was jarring, dazing, and some weekends they had sat around staring at walls before getting themselves together. The first weeks had been particularly harrowing as they tried to figure out what they needed to do – it seemed harebrained to put together a band to forewarn the Earth and warm people to the idea of alien invasion. At least, it was until Coran cheerfully commented that he had so enjoyed the Voltron Show, and he was glad that it was serving as an inspiration even now. They had had a laundry list of things to do: Pidge needed to work out when their father was expected to land on Earth and talk to their mother, Lance and Hunk needed to let their parents know they were fine, Keith needed to get in contact the Blade, and Shiro needed to reach out to his parents and Adam to let them know he was alive, and to regain access his belongings and accounts.

The band gave them a sense of purpose and a project to focus on, and the frequent discussions of music and planning had them talking to each other differently, understanding each other’s preferences and personalities and embroiling them in light-hearted critiques of the albums that they each liked. It was nice to be creating something, to be productive towards something other than war, but the nature of the project forced them to put their experiences into words, to relive them in order to figure out what the public needed to know, and what they could keep to themselves. Album planning could be at times, distressing, and the lyric process was particularly painful. Journaling became common for all of them as a starting point. “I can’t wait until we can get a therapist,” was a common, desperate refrain, though they avoided the topic of health insurance.

Even so, it helped to know they were all in it together. They knew when to give each other space, weighted blankets, comfort food, or a warm hug, they knew each other’s insomniac rituals and quirks. Living together in the House and the Shack was different from living on the Castleship, more intimate, more quotidian. They could see sunrise and sunset, the moon, the white streak of the Milky Way across the sky. Keith laughed at them as they shrieked over dust storms, ducking under the covers, all of them in a puppy pile in the middle of his tiny living room. Even though they were constantly occupying themselves, there was time – time to slow down, to enjoy the breather while it lasted, to soak in and savor their relationships. The paladin bond began to grow stronger, to the point where sometimes they didn’t need to be in the Lions to feel the mental link they had when they formed Voltron.

The original plan had been to live in the House and orbit the Earth to minimize detection, but since Keith, and eventually Coran, Romelle, Hunk, and Lance, needed to work, it wasn’t feasible. Instead, the House had been plunked down in the desert next to Keith’s Shack, the Lions stowed inside. Hunk and Coran had worked on salvaging solar cells to integrate onto the House surface and patch into the Shack’s electric grid. It would at least give them some cover, though Keith had assured them that aside from him no one ever really came out so far. If anyone really wanted to ask, he’d tell them it was an experimental accessory dwelling unit he was beta testing. The Shack definitely didn’t have enough space to house everyone, and so it became the House _and_ the Shack – the majority of the team living in the House, while using the Shack as a community space. As long as Shiro, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge didn’t leave the desert or go anywhere public, they would likely remain hidden and assumed missing. For trips to their family houses, they relied on the space wolf, who had accompanied them on the initial trips in the cloaked Lions, and also served as additional proof that their experiences were true.

Keith had held onto his old courier job for six months, before he’d quit to make sure he wouldn’t draw attention to the Shack. It had been a shock for his boss to turn up looking suddenly two years older, Keith had mentioned dryly, with a smirk. Colleen was able to get Romelle and Coran jobs as well, through friends and connections, being unrecognizable to locals. For several months, the team had been treated to extended rants about the pleasures of customer service jobs, prompting many lengthy debates about the nature and significance of human etiquette, cultural misunderstandings with Altean norms, and an extended marathon of slice-of-life shows with a side of makeshift psychoanalysis. In the meantime, Hunk had managed to conquer Plaht City’s coffee shops, diners, and pie market with his burgeoning bakery business, kindly facilitated again by Colleen Holt, who leant him her kitchen and fridge when she was away in the daytime working, and by Lance, who functioned as his assistant. Allura and Shiro generally held down the fort and were the main contacts for the various space agencies and institutions they constantly communicated with about the incoming threat, while Pidge worked feverishly at downloading and analyzing data from the Lions and their devices, to be added into the reports and memos that Shiro typed up.

The coo of the encrypted messaging system warbled through the bridge as Pidge flopped down in their seat in triumph, examining the snack table with wriggling fingers.

“Ooh, pigs in a blanket,” they said with relish.

“And nachos and sausage penne bake!” Hunk announced proudly. “There’s honey butter chips, too, Romelle got her hands on a bunch the last time she was in town.”

Shiro wandered in with a hum, searching the blank screen. “Looks like it’s just us right now, huh?” he said, and redirected himself to the snacks. “Allura’s finishing up a call, she said she’ll head over in a bit. I’m not sure where the others are, though. Are those espresso brownies?”

“Yeah, I had just a couple left over from today’s bake. That pile on the end there is the brownie ends that I had to cut off too, I know you and Lance like those.”

“Ugh, you’re a saint, Hunk. I could drown myself in these right now.” With a melodramatic sigh, Shiro scooped three onto a plate. “I’m just not as young as I used to be.”

A bag of uni-flavored senbei bounced off his head as Keith beelined for the nachos. “Shut up, Shiro,” he huffed. “About 75% of your hair is still black.”

“Gets whiter every time you’re mean to me, whippersnapper,” Shiro said, trying to rip the senbei package open as dramatically as possible. The package didn’t comply; he only received a deflated sounding crinkle.

“Are those rice crackers? Can I have some?” Lance asked excitedly as he rushed in with a fragrant platter of freshly pan fried mariquitas. “I’ll trade you.”

“Of course you can,” Shiro said, prompting a delighted whoop. He frowned as Keith sat down next to him and shoved a plate of penne in his face. “I would’ve gotten some myself you know.”

“Dinner before dessert,” Keith said, tapping the plate emphatically. “I know you haven’t eaten anything since we worked on that trumpet line after lunch.”

“Oh…I didn’t think about that,” Shiro said, blinking at the plate and accepting it. He wrinkled his nose at Keith’s overwrought eyeroll. “Don’t even start. But thanks.”

A resonant blooping noise signaled the entry of a guest into the video call. Colleen Holt waved from the bridge screen, smiling warmly.

“Hello everyone,” she said. “It looks like we’re still waiting.”

“Hi Mom,” Pidge said around a mouthful of mini hotdog. “Everyone else is late.”

“Not so!” Romelle crowed as she stepped in, Allura and Coran on each elbow. The space wolf sauntered in after them, lifting its nose and sniffing. Disinterested in the snack table, it wandered over to Keith, planting its paws on his knees.

“Buddy, no, I’m still eating – “

Uncaring of its relative size, the space wolf clambered onto Keith anyway, propping its front paws up on his shoulders, shimmying its butt into his lap. With a satisfied chuff, it nuzzled at Keith’s hair before craning its head over to give Shiro a greeting lick. Another bloop sounded from the speakers.

“You are such a baby,” Keith groaned, jostling the wolf around so he could access his plate and get another aggrieved, overlarge, Tapatio-drenched bite of nachos. “You’re too big for this now.”

“It’s the sign of a good papa,” Shirogane Ryuusei announced sagely from the bridge screen, looking a little rumpled in morning light. “When I’m stern with him, Shiroshiro still makes the same guilty face he did when he was five.”

“You’re never stern with him you giant sap,” Baek Haneul complained, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “I always had to be the bad parent. Hello all. Are you having fun yet?” She unceremoniously shoved a large spoonful of rice in her mouth. “Too bad you aren’t here right now, Takkun. We’re eating leftover kinshi donburi from Kaneyo. All the sauce has soaked into the rice…we cracked another egg in with it...gave it some time in the pan…”

“You _are_ the bad parent,” Shiro said mournfully, “Why did you have to tell me this?? And I bet you both drank too much with Oo-Oba and Ojii-chan yesterday night anyway.”

“So much for filial piety,” Haneul snorted. Another bloop sounded, and a third screen opened up to show Veronica adjusting the camera angle.

“Sounds familiar,” she said, backing away to the table where Adam and Iverson sat behind her, eagerly swiping a yuquita through a dish of hot sauce. “Leandrico never gives me any respect either.”

“Lies and slander, I respect you plenty,” Lance retorted hotly, from where he was scooting plaintain chips onto Shiro’s plate. A pile of senbei were already on his. “Just not when you’re wrong.”

“Except I’m always right,” Veronica replied dryly, as Adam snickered. “You’re assuming your judgment’s not impaired.”

Allura laughed merrily as she stole several senbei off Lance’s plate. “Oh, he’s alright. Usually.”

“ _Princess_ ,” Lance gasped, hand to his chest. “Light of my life, stars to my sky – how could you wound me like this?!”

Colleen applauded lightly. “Maybe instead of being a band, you should have done group stand up instead.”

Pidge stuck out their tongue and made a loud retching noise so disgusting that Hunk swiveled over to look at them in alarm. “Ew, no. I’ll stick to my sweet, sweet algorithms, thanks.”

“Speaking of which,” Iverson said gamely, working through his own snack ramen packet, “I’ve gotten your code over to Dr. Bremen and Dr. Singh for them to start working on an early detection system. According to your count, how much time do we have left?”

Popping a honey butter chip in their mouth, Pidge took out their PADD with their nongreasy hand, propping it up on their bended knees and tapping rapidly through the interface. “Nine days,” they said, “Should be fairly accurate. Matt sent us a note a while ago; Dad’s already on the way back.”

“Things like that always makes me think how good everyone’s acting skills are,” Hunk mused, scooping up a forkful of penne. “I didn’t notice anyone acting weird back then, even though they must have felt really anxious about the future. But it also kind of sucks that we can’t do anything to help when we know what’s going to happen.”

“What’s the human saying you’re repeating all the time,” chortled Coran, brandishing a cheese laden chip, “Twenty is the hindsight?”

“Hindsight is 20/20,” Lance chipped in, and the two of them fired finger guns at each other.

“Well, the livestream shouldn’t be any trouble at least,” Ryuusei said brightly, looking like the epitome of a cheerful Saturday morning with a steaming cup of tea in his hand. “Keith’s been great to practice with. Turns out I also have the worse drummer face.”

“He’s a brass player of taste. We’re finally getting to play Moon Hooch songs,” Haneul cackled, jabbing her chopsticks at the screen. “I’ll send you all the video before the group session tomorrow.” Keith groaned again and hid his face behind a wall of space wolf.

“It’s been good to play something different,” Colleen agreed, “I’m definitely looking forward to it! Flora also emailed me earlier this week, she says she wants to add the observatory data to the star map so she’ll be sending it along shortly. They’re keeping an eye on the skies, too.”

“Wonderful,” Allura said, nibbling daintily at a brownie. “How are we on the ship front?”

“Two guys in Garrison JPL are working on an engine unit,” Adam reported with a grin, “On the downlow of course. Turns out they know some of the Tanegashima GAIA guys from graduate school, so they’ve formed their own little club. They said they had more questions about crystal output and comparative energy sources though, so Hunk and Coran, you’ll probably get something from them later this week.”

“Iverson and I have been chatting about what we know about the brass, too,” Veronica said, still chewing lightly. “Based on what we’ve been able to dig up on Shiro’s landing and other retrieval missions of space debris, they’ve been engaged in illegal salvage of grounded space equipment for the past couple years and not really sticking to protocol. They’re not reporting or returning what they find. There’s been an uptick in intellectual property suits for satellite and engine technology these past couple years.”

“In your case, Shiro…seems like the brass mostly wanted to cover up a faulty mission verdict,” Iverson said, “One of the guys on the retrieval mission that day was a general’s inside man, and he reported it up immediately. The plan was to keep you detained until they could figure out how to handle the situation.” He sighed. “Honestly, things don’t look great for us. At this point I’m grateful that you’re willing to share information with the anyone related to the Garrison at all.”

“We’re all going to have to work together in the end,” Shiro said grimly. “Earth was already involved from the beginning. The motives could have been worse too, we were worried there was a Galra presence here already. Besides, I made it out okay. It’s not your guys’ fault that the brass are assholes. People already know that anyway.”

“I’m afraid I have to agree,” Haneul said, placing her chopsticks on her empty bowl with an emphatic clink. “The Garrison does valuable research, but its military affiliation creates restrictions around scope, creativity, and subject. At least in astrophysics, it’s well known that long term engagements are better taken at private universities than the Garrison, unless someone’s studying one of the chosen topics. Otherwise, the Garrison’s just an academic stepping stone.”

“Ugh, believe me, I know,” Iverson groaned, “It’s always been a problem. Sam used to chew my ear off about it all the time.”

“And now, _I_ chew your ear off about it all the time,” Colleen said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “We’ve had good traction with other university research departments at least, the more precise version of the star map has been adopted, and they’re working on analyzing different portions of the data that Pidge got from the Lions about various phenomena that you’ve all encountered. They’re having a field day with it.”

“As far as GAIA’s concerned, it’s like New Year’s,” Shiro said as he chewed through a brownie woodenly, long-suffering. “They’re…really enthusiastic. There’s a directory of professors and experts involved. There’s an introductory packet. I’ve seen too many infographics in the past month. I think they want to hold a webinar.”

“Is it mandatory for all flight institutions to be a little weird?” Colleen asked, dunking a speculoos cookie in her coffee. “I have friends in astrobiology and their departments aren’t like this.”

“Can’t say,” Adam said, “Though the Garrison certainly encourages a certain type of temperament. Most of the pilots I know are some kind of adrenaline junkie, myself included.”

“That explains so much,” Hunk muttered around a loaded chip.

“As far as timeline goes then, we’re good?” Keith said, digging into a mound of honey butter chips. “Livestream on day 8? Prepare bullshit responses for weird brass questions on day 9?”

“Don’t worry, Keith, we’ll run a press drill with you guys,” Veronica said sweetly, and chomped into a yuquita with glee.

“Oh goody,” Keith muttered, and hugged the wolf to him a little tighter. “More work.”

“By Shiro and Keith’s paladin powers combined, we didn’t travel back in time for this,” Pidge complained, and drowned their irritation in tomato sauce, pasta, sausage, and cheese.

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Countdown is in the single digits! Final livestream will be this week, including some special guests. Please join us in our fight. #FormVoltron

[embedded link: Quantum Relativity Blues Livestream / No Known Universe is going live on Twitch. / twitch.tv]

**Y’all’d’ve** @seeyousadcowboy

“FINAL” livestream WAIT WHAT

**Mikey Wasserman** @brassybassy

On one hand I’m SUPER EXCITED and on the other hand in TOTAL DESPAIR

**I’m baby** @lizcreants

he giveth but he also taketh away ;_;

**Sean** @metalpeerless

lol what did Shirogane get hired back by the Garrison or something what a sellout

**sticks out ma leggy** @sootspider

and so I will sit here consumed with lust for the rest of the evening….and also cry

**one corn chip** @perturbthebirb

I AM IN AGONY why is it so earlyyyy

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Welcome back to the Voltron Conspiracy. Full story playthrough with special guests! We have liftoff. #FormVoltron

[embedded link: Quantum Relativity Blues Livestream / No Known Universe is going live on Twitch. / twitch.tv]

**Which_witch:** holy shit HOLY SHIT are they playing real folk blues as an intro YES THEY ARE I am having too many feelings rn

**cozyteacozy:** not sure how but this version of orpheus salvo is much more polished than perseids version, and allura got written in too!! can’t wait to see how they do mutual elegy live

**kg-barisax:** how is pilot error even grittier than it already was on the album??? I get anxious just listening to this. K’s brass parts are great

**RAHRAHramen:** whoadang the multivocalist approach on howling sands CRUSHES when H and K do the growl together it’s like a subwoofer going off

**lowbrow_butart:** no instrument swap this time but you really can hear a bit of a change in tone between hands when shirogane taps. I kinda like it though, has character

**radiomaxmain:** the sound design on escape velocity completely changed its so much icier now. It’s always great to see artists return and rework older material

**fluffysnorlax:** AHHHHHH SHIROGANE IS REALLY DOING THE G MONOLOGUE oh god I can’t listen to this it hurts meeee

**starcrasherati:** Wait a minute are they doing mutual elegy as one piece??? HOLY CRAP THEY’RE DOING IT AS ONE COMBINED PIECE I love how the two portions intertwine for a sort of compare/contrast

**cactus_friend:** Kudos to H and P really holding down the effects and programming in the back there, they’re doing great

**jeanjohnjoan:** I feel like the combo mutual elegy mix drives the emotion home, especially with Allura there to do the vocals live. The glitch effects really make me think early 65dos

**pancakeflippro:** nooo princess!!! she’s crying!! nooooo

**technologiccc:** Konami Code is such a groove and I love watching them puzzle out this freeform choreo thing that L keeps trying to start

**lethargic!Inthesunroom** : Aww all the guitars are dancing together that’s cute lmao K and P are just not having it in the back

**KEYSMASHHH:** Oh shit K pulling out the drumsnbass beats to duel with P on synths and samples love that they’re adding improv parts into this

**synthy:** THEY’RE SPEEDING UP ffs someone get these two in a louis cole video

**NeonGlow** : P BLOWS THE AIR HORN THEN LANDS THE BASS DROP YEAHHHHHHH 12000/10

**Et-tubro:** We went from srs biznis orpheus to like….party all the time this mood whiplash is something else

**wordsalads:** Meanwhile, H….SLAPs hARDER

**alvaradosessions:** Man Shirogane can really sing and change up his voice he really doesn’t get enough credit for his vocals I love how he’s like the narrator

**halle_stu:** K really is the speaker at the start of Stereomyth….ok are we sure he’s Galra?? They’re supposed to be really large right?

**altoidallergy:** lmao when it comes to NKU everythings basically just speculation

**simplesueweaves:** Pirates of the Carribean but metal….can we get hans zimmer in here

**donodon:** Yessss L getting really steady on that rhythm guitar I love how there’s these little flamenco type flourishes in there

**telecasterstripe:** that moment where K keeps going on the kicksdrums while blasting on the trumpet like look ma no hands….that’s the one

**miserybiz:** I actually think that part is really good because the rhythm actually shifts to P’s synth and H’s bass and they’re just locking it down

**moldymort:** LMAO everyone did the evil laugh together it’s great how much fun they’re having just rocking out that’s good energy

**Purljam:** This group headbang is so satisfying Allura is getting super ham in the back

**mrguuuuu:** Takashi Shirogane is Jesus and Satan at the same time, sing like an angel, gurgle like the ninth pit of hell

**marronmontblanc:** I did NOT expect that massive group growl at the start of Power and Control I almost jumped out of my seat. And the discordant synth right after too I’m just like….Halloween already???

**theogfreddy:** God tier time signature changes all over this damn track. I really hope that tab book happens

**polymathist:** I can’t believe K and Shiro are handling different parts on the drums right now what is this chaos someone please grab a screenshot of this

**ekerot:** SUCCESSFUL MIDSONG INSTRUMENT SWAP wow I can’t believe they Did That

**snaccattacc:** Sometimes you love and hate a band because they’re so good but also obliterate your sense of self-worth as a musician uwu

**8bit_terror:** Sweet, sweet chiptune. P and Allura are really killing this part

**wahwahboost:** Ah geez this funk breakdown is one of my faves. SAXY TIME.

**trombenny:** This polka part is new, very weird Al. I can dig it. I like how it lets Allura shine

**winenonah:** STATE OF ENERGY OF THE UNIVERSEEEEEE wow we went from totally aggro to totally high in the span of 20 seconds

**manypostmusic:** Actually the most peaceful song NKU has written if you don’t count the back half. I like that it trips into funk for a hot minute before doing the sludge breakdown

**oracle-bonez:** Surprised that this particular song hasn’t been picked apart for samples by garage producers yet actually

**dinostodon-45:** I hate that this stupid audio sound is haunting us literally CENTURIES after it premiered in theaters smh

**dreadpirate:** ….WAIT. NEW MATERIAL ALERT? NEW MATERIAL ALERT!!!!!

**mochimoshi:** In-concert album drop, ok that’s new. Didn’t expect NKU to go for midwest emo

**seemerolling:** Grindcore with tapping!! and dancy interludes!! YESSSSS

**firefluff41:** H on lead vocals: how does he enunciate so well while yelling??? A majestic mystery

**bendandsnap:** DAMN I didn’t expect that saloon keyboard line to just lead into a metal breakdown and an actual blues groove guess the livestream title wasn’t for nothing

**teamnyaaaan:** ALLURA THROATSINGING wow sign me the fuck up I love how it leads into this more rhythm driven section with group call and response

**itsamemaria:** LINER NOTES PLS I just know there’s storyline we’re missing RIGHT NOW I love that it’s commentary on communication and understanding but in a concert that’s hard and the translator module doesn’t work on her singing

**takemehomecountryrd:** love how that group shout trailed up into another crushing breakdown. NKU toying w our emotions like usual 

**imbluedeebada:** Another unexpected bass drop?!?! Ok I guess we’re dubstep now

**potatobottom:** So lemme get the story straight – everything boils back down to that rift Zarkon opened up back in mutual elegy?

**sourstarter:** Seems to be that way. Looks like it also spits out contagious artifacts everywhere too, kinda like radiation poisoning

**cpnespresso:** And eats planets somehow Daibazaal was destroyed to close the rift

**prin_dud:** Now seconding that request for liner notes. No wonder the band is always telling us to read them

**beach-waves:** Oh,,,,calm. would love more trio work between Allura, P, and H

**thrashthrill:** Does this song…only have normal vocalizations? No screaming? EGADS

**yoursingularity:** my firstborn for more dissonant chords in vocals

**medusa-musey:** oh shoot it’s catchy I’m gonna have this groove in my head all day

**spooksnskeletons:** I thought this was a bit too simple for NKU at first but now I’m kind of appreciating how minimalist it is compared to their other songs…highlights their voices

**madderhatter:** tbh I think simpler songs really make bands’ composition shine. If it’s a good band even a simple song will be effective and show off their chops. In this case too because the vocals are part of the instrumentation, whenever one of them does the spoken word bits it stands out a lot more.

**flyingpigeon:** ahhhh I’m loving how they’re building things up by making each line get a little bit more complex and varying up the drum beats

**danganliner:** MORE NOISE MORE REVERBBBB

**inthemyst:** really wouldn’t mind if NKU had more nujazzy, lighter stuff like this. It’s kind of a turn in the new material, but they’re clearly able to do whatever the heck they want

**642-stale:** gentle arpeggios to soothe the soul!!! Makes the loud unison chorus that much more impactful

**cocoreco:** ….ok but if I’m not wrong the fiddler that just walked on for the solo is colleen holt

**jenaissequoi:** BRUH SHE’S REALLY GOOD

**beesknees:** they’re claiming they went back in time using Black’s teleportation? Nah, bet

**laproux:** oh man I dunno about this, suspension of disbelief just went out the window

**adogeashibe:** shhhh just enjoy the music before they waste more military budget

**kannonmm:** the way the song repeatedly swells is super nice…like how they slowly have the different instruments fad out too

**young &menace: **oh WHAT THE FUCK they’re taking the HELMETS OFF

**rosieraoly:** HOLY SHIT FACE REVEAL

**macasphalt:** aren’t those the cadets that went missing a year ago? Is shirogane a kidnapper or something?

**Bale_wulf:** But mama holt is there and she’s supposedly in contact with their families…what is going on…they’re not going to explain? Sus

**Cdisk:** shady as fuck

**Sassyspacierdandy:** so….as is usual in the NKU verse we have no idea what’s going on

**gimmechocolate:** I SAID HEYYYYYYY WHAT’S GOING O-ONNNNN

**normalestcore:** ….they aren’t playing what I think they are, are they?

**Yeeeeeeeter:** Oh hell yeah they are

**bradpittvoice:** dost mine eyes deceive me or is COLLEEN HOLT on a FIDDLE accompanying the filthiest cover of devil went down to georgia ive ever heard WE STAN

**fearmeh00man:** at least it’s not a rickroll

**hesanassassinkaren:** these meme loving mfers

**DR-doctor:** OH YES COLLEEN VS ALLURA STRINGS BATTLE pls place ur bets

**astroboots:** I didn’t even think strings could go this hard tbh

**magpie-bridge:** Best concert EVER

**THEendreel:** I see K also speaks southwestern. Yeehaw.

**AmuseBoosh:** “surprise” wow shirogane understatement of the year do you really think people are gonna believe all this is true

**carinaihsahn:** So this really is the last concert…I’m sad, but you guys had a really good run. And thank you for the star map!! ;)

**apo-nigh:** “things will make sense in a couple days” again WHY ALL THE SECRECY it’s so counterintuitive

**heynowallstar:** oh worm? Shirogane parents are joining for the last song…so they knew too. No wonder they never commented on anything the past year

**portersplash:** The media harassed them for months after Kerberos I think they get to keep their peace if they want

**Renoto:**!!! that’s unexpected, I didn’t think Papa Shirogane would take over drums. And Mama Shirogane has a bari sax? what are they gonna play

**viralmatter:** YESSSSSSS I’D KNOW THAT RIFF ANYWHERE

**roly_olli:** F! X! M! L! D! R!

**graperfruits:** Thank y’all scientists

**folkologist:** This song….is actually super fitting when you think about it. It even fits the storyline cuz according to the new material they pretty much ended on coming back the Earth

f **lexin-it:** Oh man…this means they also wrote in extra parts for P and Allura to play too!

**gran_kitty:** believe shirogane or not I’m kind of impressed by how much moodmaking they do to match the music to the concept. And TONS of variety. You did good NKU.

**Bloobloomuffin:** Ohhhhhh I’m loving this and I love the family reunion but I’m sad there’s not gonna be more NKU. Ughhhhh what’s happening?!?! There has to be a reason for the disband

**GentheSpiteful:** Hahaha mama Shirogane and K seem to have worked out a choreo routine…so why wouldn’t K dance earlier??! the power of moms

**whipurhair:** YESSS they added vocal harmonies!! This is a great adaptation

**strawberryswingin:** Lmao P and Colleen yelping the lyrics for fun

**comicsanserif:** L is acing the lead guitar, glad he’s getting even more time to shine here!!

**sopalto:** Shirogane is NAILING that long note what even is his lung capacity?! And he said he couldn’t go from singing to screaming…

**autumn-melon:** imagine if they did the party all the time cover though

**brokeass_sad:** DAMN the parents go hard look at ‘em getting all into the breakdown

**funkytown:** I am so relieved to hear the new stuff will still get a regular release…what a way to introduce it though. so happy I logged on tonight.

**Swifferswishas:** What a night….see you space cowboy

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

Thanks for joining us on our last livestream! New material will get regular release on BC; look out for Quantum Relativity Blues, 2 tracks, Interstitial Liminal and Maximal Extension. #FormVoltron

**The Fight Is Here** @NoKnownUniverse

We’re still gonna be around though. You’ll see soon enough :3 Thank you for your support, and please continue to join the fight. We’re gonna need your help to keep the planet safe. Good night and good luck! #FormVoltron

Seeing the swirling blue and white of Earth’s surface was more relieving than Sam ever believed it could be. It was wonderful to know that Matt and Pidge were safe, and Shiro too, but it had been so long since he’d seen Colleen, or his home. After such a long time away, he wasn’t even sure he could remember the layout of the master bedroom. Colleen was a strong woman, more headstrong than him, and fully capable of turning a situation to her ends, but nevertheless, he worried. He was thankful that he hadn’t encountered any foreign ships on his journey back to the Milky Way, didn’t even cross any dangerous scenarios when entering the solar system. His luck was holding out for once.

But perhaps he’d spoken too soon. Once he entered airspace above Arizona, he suddenly received a hail on his dashboard. Clearing his throat, he answered it, fingers hovering uncertainly over the controls for the weapon system.

“Hello,” he said, “Please identify yourself.”

“Hey Dad,” his youngest child greeted him, to his shock, Pidge’s delighted smirk as familiar as it had been several months ago. “Don’t worry, we’re in V formation behind you.”

He couldn’t stop himself from leaning in, as if it could help him understand the situation better. “Wh…Pidge! Why are you here? Aren’t you and the paladins supposed to be helping with the Kral Zera?!”

“To make a long story short,” Pidge said dryly, flapping open a hand, “We did, and then we tried to do a group teleport back to Earth with both Keith and Shiro in the Black Lion while forming Voltron. Apparently, Black got a little enthusiastic. Shot us through space _and_ time.”

“…time travel?!” Sam whispered to himself incredulously. Breathing out slowly, rubbing his temples, he willed himself to accept it the way he’d accepted so many of the outlandish, brutal, and brilliant things he’d seen before in space. “Well, if wormholes are possible, I suppose time distortion isn’t so far off.”

“Lions don’t exactly follow the rules,” Pidge replied, in what Sam recognized as their form of commiseration. Four other hails lit up his dashboard, all of which he accepted.

“Hello Dr. Holt, welcome back to North American airspace,” Shiro greeted him warmly with a nod. “Gang’s all here. Thought you wouldn’t mind an honor guard with you.” The other paladins waved. Curiously, it seemed they’d returned to the initial Lion lineup Pidge had told him about. Allura was missing.

“Good to see you again, Shiro,” Sam chuckled. “I feel very important.”

“You are,” Shiro said easily. “Pidge probably briefed you but….we’ve been here a while. Couldn’t send any messages out in space because we didn’t want to mess with the timeline. But, we were able to help set things up for your arrival.”

“Veronica says Iverson’s out and ready for you at the main entrance, front and center,” crowed Lance, looking down at his phone.

“And Allura says the House is reaching the coordinates soon, just a couple more doboshes,” Hunk added. A raspy chuckle indicated Keith’s only contribution.

“Sounds like you’ll have to catch me up,” Sam murmured wryly, as they started to descend towards a growing speck of dirt-colored buildings in the middle of the desert. Sometimes it felt like children moved and grew so fast, but such was their prerogative. It kept him adaptable and spry, and it was inspiring all the same. They never lost their curiosity, they always wanted to know more, think more. Or perhaps the young adults he knew were just that exemplary. It was probably all those things.

His craft landed smoothly, the many rudimentary flight lessons he’d taken for space missions coming in handy. Commander Iverson was waiting calmly with Adam and Veronica some distance away, and if Sam hadn’t spent so long purposely haranguing the man for fun and for legitimate reasons, he might have missed the slight slackness of his jaw that indicated real shock. Not that any of the bystanders seemed better, they froze in clumps, jaws dropped and eyes wide. A couple had already taken out their phones to start recording and taking pictures.

The Lions touched down quietly in a row beside his craft, and in the distance, a white dot quickly resolved itself into a large ship with Altean aesthetics, all smooth white hull and blue highlights, sleeker and smaller than the Castleship. It too, landed vertically with little fanfare.

Hauling himself slowly out of the plane, Sam wobbled a little, squinting in the strong desert sun. He’d almost forgotten how total the heat was here, the way it blanketed one’s skin, reminded them that their sun was a star. Shiro came jogging down the Black Lion’s ramp, Pidge right on his heels as they ran from Green.

“Sam!” he shouted, while Pidge forwent all decorum and simply collided with Sam’s torso.

“Oof, gently, gently,” he wheezed, but ran his hand fondly through Pidge’s hair. “I’m glad to see you again too.” He looked up to exchange a knowing look with Shiro. “And glad to hear I won’t have to do this alone either. I have to say, regardless of the circumstances, this will probably be much smoother with you all here too.”

Shiro looked away quickly to wave at Iverson, Adam, and Veronica, who were making their way over. “Well,” he said, smiling mischievously and propping his hands on his hips, looking like the same enthusiastic young man Sam had met years ago. “We’re the Paladins of Voltron. Defending the universe is in our job description. Everyone knows that.”

**The Paladins of Voltron: The Band** @NoKnownUniverse

Let us reintroduce ourselves. We’re Shiro, Allura, Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, Paladins of the Voltron Lions. We spent the last year out in space and everything we’ve sung about is true. We look forward to working with you. Form Voltron!

[attached image: the five paladins stand in front of five large mechanical lions, a large white spaceship further in the back. Shiro and Allura crouch in the front, Pidge and Keith behind them, with Lance and Hunk in the last row. Their arms extended outward to form a large V shape. Lance is dabbing. With them are a newly arrived Sam Holt, Collen Holt, Shirogane Ryuusei, and Baek Haneul, as well as Adam, Veronica, and Iverson, who are all holding up victory signs. All of them have large grins, except Iverson, who grimaces.]

**Author's Note:**

> Now with better formatting! Would you believe this all started because of the frustration of not being able to understand unclean vocals and by extension, concept albums??? I had actually also tossed around the idea of Shiro and Keith having a music cover YouTube channel as well so I decided to cram everything together. Concept albums are pretty common in metal and prog, and all the band AUs I'd ever seen were for pop, indie, alternative, and folk, so this looked like it could be an interesting variation. title inspired by gintama. 
> 
> This is totally not how metalhead twitter or twitch works probably, but I'll just call it creative license in this case, haha. There's not that many music publications included for the same reason, I don't generally pay too much attention to them and thought things would drag out even more. Mostly I just wanted to focus on public perception. The UEFI rootkit comment - apparently the hacking method that was used to get into the US Democratic National Convention servers, performed by Russia. The honey cake is very good though.
> 
> If you'd like to have a better idea of what the NKU tracklist was and what the different albums/EPs sound like, there's a [full reference sheet here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-nHYLWwqmxTMbRJ-NRWbwEbRxytYrXTYGhzEzpbUiOA/edit?usp=sharing), including links to other songs mentioned in the AMA portion. 
> 
> Invariably some of the things I was thinking about and experiencing while I was writing leaked in, but hey, the idea is that if there's something you care about you have to make some noise. Thank you for reading!!


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